


Take Me Away

by ehcanuck



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Angst, Battle, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Dimension Travel, Fae & Fairies, Family, Family you Choose, Fighting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Mind Control, Minor Violence, Monsters, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Mythology - Freeform, Mythology EVERYWHERE, Rescue, Rescue Missions, Tír na nÓg, Whump, or as much canon compliant as you can really get with Hetalia, relationships in the background but not really in spotlight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-18
Updated: 2014-02-05
Packaged: 2017-12-30 17:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 110,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1021645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ehcanuck/pseuds/ehcanuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sick of being ignored, Matt decides to take a break from it all but he turns up missing. Wandering between worlds, will he find his way out? Will he want to? Will the world survive the events his disappearance sets in motion?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**AN- Every now and again, you'll probably notice that the different characters will say a word or two (or sentence depending) in another language. I felt it added a certain something as most multilingual people will slip in a word of their native tongue every now and again.**

**To avoid confusion, I stuck the translations at the bottom.** **Hopefully the languages for which I require a translator haven't been completely butchered (if I have, I apologize & please let me know)**

**This is my first fan fiction and I hope you like it. (Please Review if you do!)**

**I do not own Hetalia. At All. Nope.**

* * *

Matthew had had enough.

Of being forgotten, of being pushed to the side.

Of being used as cannon fodder, a scapegoat or for his ability as peacemaker, then ignored.

Of feeling his self-worth slowly scraping away with each and every encounter.

Yes, he'd most assuredly had had enough of being but a footnote on every nation's notes.

The only problem?

He wasn't sure what he could do about it

He knew that the more conventional ways of getting his peers attention (and he knew them all, after all he'd been in America's shadow for years) would not work. Canada had tried them all, if albeit somewhat unwillingly in some cases: going to war, helping troubled nations, winning some international sporting event or having an enormous recession (and taking everyone else down with him) had failed to help him be noticed. Miserably.

He had fought in both World Wars, the Boer War, the Seven Year War, the War of 1812, and more; along with participating in some way in nearly every peacekeeping mission to date. Hell, one of his own had even come up with the idea of a peacekeeping force. Despite his efforts, no one could remember him.

He constantly sent aid to help other countries when disasters hit or when they were in need. He was consistently was one of the top two providers of regular and emergency food aid. Furthermore, when an Land Mine Ban failed to pass in the United Nations, he had started the Ottawa Process to have them banned anyway. The end result was the Antipersonnel Landmine Ban treaty which Canada had 122 different countries sign and agreed to destroy any antipersonnel mines. Moreover, he and his people had been involved in the formation and implementation of nuclear disarmament, the International Declaration of Human Rights and in the formation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization), WHO (World Health Organization) and more. Of course, he wasn't providing aid for the sake of attention but it would still be nice to have his efforts recognized.

But nope, that hadn't helped either.

The only international sporting event that he'd "won" involved Hockey or were typically among the sports in the [*cough*winter*cough*] Olympics. There were the odd medals in the summer sports but they were less frequent. The Olympics in 2010 had given him false hope (that had been a good year for him) as after hosting, many nations recognized him and offered him their congratulations. However, within a few weeks everyone had moved on. Again.

The recession idea had somewhat been tested in the 30's and Matt had absolutely no desire to go through that again. EVER. He hadn't been able to stay standing for more than 10 minutes for the better part of the decade. It had sucked. Badly.

However, to be quite honest - if his compatriots could not bother to remember him except in some dangerous situation or for some harebrained scheme, then he didn't really want them to. After all who needs such fair weathered (more like foul weathered though) friends?

He sure as hell didn't.

As such Canada's course of action was clear and much simpler then all the above choices.

Matthew Williams was going to disappear.

And not in his "usual" way either, but he was taking the year off to go visit his provinces/territories and just unwind. To remind himself of his history and of a much simpler time before the Europeans came over to royally fuck it up. Despite the forced assimilation and deaths of many of his First People (and the subsequent loss of their histories and cultures), he still remembered his time before he was colonized, (though the memories were a little bit hazy and blurred together) and wanted to feel that peace again. To live once again as the Inummariit did.

Excited to at the thought of getting away from globalization and back to the wilds, the Klahanie, Canada quickly shut his briefcase and called for Kumajiro before exiting the meeting hall into the cool night. Not once looking back.

.

..

...

Which was too bad or else he might have seen what hit him.

* * *

**Translations**

_Inummariit_  (Inuktitut- "real people", for those who live as by the old ways as their ancestors did)

 _Klahanie_  (Chinook- the outdoors)


	2. Chapter 2

**Kathleen=Northern Ireland**

**Hetalia is not mine and never will be.**

* * *

England chuckled manically in his basement as he snuffed out the candles and rubbed out the chalk marks from the ground. The stupid git would no longer be able to deny the existence of magic or mythological creatures after spending a day or so in THAT world.

Bwahaha. It was ingenious! His best idea ever!

The best thing would be that he'd be rid of the wanker for a year!

A whole year!

It would be so quiet... He'd have to put out some special treats to thank Puck for responding to his summoning and pushing that insufferable twit into the portal. Whistling quietly to himself, he quickly made his way back upstairs to make himself some tea. Hah! He'd love to see the look on the boy's face when he realized where he was. He would regret making fun of him for certain.

Stupid America.

* * *

In the meantime, just outside Sweden's house where the conference was this year, a polar bear sat in the pouring rain, just staring at the spot where his beloved kîyamâtisiw askîy had disappeared. He had not moved an inch from the spot. He would wait. He would make sure that the boy was safe before hunting or sleeping or  _anything_.

Though as the sun set, he felt himself slowly slip away, for he was tied to the boy as the boy was to him and realized he might not be able to easily keep that promise.

They were nîsôtew ahcâhk , bound together. Interconnected. One could not exist if the other was dead. And now he was gone. He had felt the others slowly slip away, one after the other and was surprised that he was the last. Just as the stars could be seen winking in and out of existence and his eyes started to slip closed, he heard a voice say:

"Oi furball! Watcha doing out here taking a nap?" a loud voice shouted "Birdie is probably worried about you."

Not having time to say anything but a quiet "Who?" before he hit the pavement

"Bear? That isn't awesome..." The voice sounded somewhat concerned, scared even.

Ah, well. It didn't matter. Nothing but blessed blackness surrounded him now.

* * *

In Canada, the Prime Minister was absolutely anxious. He'd been phoned multiple times over the past two days by the different premiers who all told him the same thing. Their provinces/territories had passed out, how and where they were found in such and such place and how they were completely unable to wake them. In fact, if they didn't have a pulse, all thirteen could have been mistaken for someone dead. Their skin had taken on this waxy look, they were unnaturally still and their body temperature was practically non-existent. So far, the personifications had been brought home and put in their beds with someone to guard them, but that was all they could do for now. Worst yet, he'd been unable to contact their "father", Canada was not answering his phone, pager, email or anything. It was like he had vanished of the face of the Earth. Now he didn't quite understand how the entire "I'm a personified nation"-thing worked, but he was sure that having thirteen sub-nations comatose and one nation missing, was bad. Essentially:

"This isn't good."

* * *

Meanwhile, Canada was just starting to regain consciousness after his... fall. From what he could remember, he'd fallen from a hole in the sky, much like in that Iroquois creation story. Does that mean that his survival was due to birds breaking his fall? Maybe some Canadian Geese...

Realizing he was starting to ramble mentally, he quickly shook his head and looked around. Calmly taking inventory of himself and his surroundings, he began to feel mildly uneasy when he saw a purple sky filled two moons and unfamiliar stars dancing about in unknown constellations. Quickly climbing a nearby tree, he was able to determine that there were no nearby settlements, cities, towns or anything. Just pure vast wilderness.

That he was in the middle of.

Great. Just Great.

This didn't really concern him (just moderately annoyed him), as with a family like his, he was able to take the bizarre in stride , but still... Feeling quickly for the charm that is Aunt Kathleen (Northern Ireland) gave him, and he was startled to discover that it had disappeared. Which led him to the conclusion that he was in bigger trouble then he initially thought.

It had been Hallowe'en the day of the meeting.

_~Flashback~_

_Shortly after Canada had been taken from France by England, he had been handed off to his new caretakers siblings to be looked after. Towards the end of October, his Aunt Kathleen had pulled him to the side after dinner._

_"Conas tá tú, a mháthair?" Matthew asked._

_"Daoine, Mo Chara , though I did not know you were learning my favoured language" Kathleen answered slightly surprised and was momentarily sidetracked._

_"Tá mé a foghlaim; I've been spending a lot more time with you and Scotland so I figured should learn, especially with all your people coming to my lands" The small colony answered_

_"I see... Anyway, Oíche Shamhna is coming up so I've made you this pisreog for you to wear so when the gruagach and nìghe are out so they will leave you be. Though I would like it if you wore it always so if you wander onto a Foidín mearaí, you will be safe but that is your choice. HOWEVER I INSIST that you wear it every for Oíche Shamhna." Her fiery speech finished, she looked at her nephew expectantly and was startled to see him staring at her with wide eyes._

_"Um... Aunt Kathleen have you been drinking  whiskey again?"_

_"No! Well... yes. But that's beside the point Matthew! I don't want you to be taken for a fool for it is our kind that they love to play tricks on the most! They managed to get a hold of Arthur when he was little and now his house is a veritable nest of the Sìdhe!" Kathleen said adamantly. Lowering her voice to a fierce whisper, she leaned over to where Matthew sat and said "Remember on the night of Oíche Shamhna: Oró! Sé do bheatha 'bhaile! Tá Sìdhe ag teacht! ... and wear the pisreog!"_

_Matthew quickly took the charm and put it on his wrist to appease his aunt and left, leaving her to ramble about the Na Daoine Sídhe to the air._

_~End Flashback~_

.

..

...

..

.

"Tabernac! I'm so not in Kansas anymore." He said with a groan, running a shaking hand through his hair as he did so.

* * *

Translations

 _kîyamâtisiw askîy_  (Cree- quiet + land)

 _nîsôtew ahcâhk_  (Cree- twin souls)

 _Conas tá tú, a mháthair?_  (Gaelic- how are you mother? (polite way to address an elder- call mother or father)

 _Daoine, Mo Chara_  (Gaelic- Good my dear one)

 _Tá mé a foghlaim_  (Gaelic- I'm learning)

 _pisreog_ (Gaelic- fairy charm)

 _Oíche Shamhna_  (Gaelic- Hallowe'en)

 _gruagach_  (Gaelic- goblin)

 _nìghe_  (Gaelic- mischievous fairy)

 _Foidín mearaí_  (Gaelic- land on which fae can lead you astray)

 _Sìdhe_ (Gaelic- Fairy folk)

 _Oró! Sé do bheatha 'bhaile! Tá Sìdhe ag teacht! (_ Gaelic- Oho! Stay home for your life! The fae are coming out tonight)

 _Na Daoine Sídhe_  (Gaelic- The Fae)

 _Tabernac!_  (Québecois slang- F**k)


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN- All German in this is either from my German class or from Google translate. Please let me know if there are any errors. Australian slang here and in following chapters is from** _

**www. koalanet. com. (remove spaces)**

**Hetalia is not mine and never will be.**

* * *

After that disturbing revelation, Matt's  _Hosers' Alfred/Arthur Recovery And Situation Survival Emergency Training_  or HARASSET (sounds like harassed, which he was between the two of them really) quickly kicked in and he began to search for some sort of shelter, some running water and some sort of food. The irony was that it wasn't even any sort of special training or really training at all, but rather experience from having to deal with his fellow nations especially the two that made it into the name.

After settling in under what appeared to be the Grandmother of all Willow Trees – which was at least as tall as a 15 story building – and a river, he built a small fire out of his briefcase and notes (after all he'd already faxed a copy to his boss) and ate the granola bar he had stored in there. Following this, Matt realized two very important things. One; he was cold as his portable space heater/ companion was missing and Two, that he could no longer feel the constant pull of his people or his land. He wasn't too concerned about the latter but what about his friend? Thinking back, he realized that Kuma-something had been walking beside him so when he ...fell so Kuma hadn't fallen with him. Being a realist, Matt quickly reassured himself that the bear would be fine, after all, he was a bear. He could hunt and he could certainly find someone to feed him- like Germany or Prussia (though they called him Knut for some reason). The bear would be alright... he tried to convince himself, missing his constant companion.

Though after opening his eyes again, he quickly decided that Kumajiro's safety was not his top priority right now.

...Getting away from a Giant Snow Leopard was.

"Câ-lisse" was all he had a chance to say before it was on him.

* * *

After a week of his awesome care, the not-so-awesome bear was still out for the count. Completely and utterly. As in watching the birdies (like his awesome Gilbird). KO'd. Went out to lunch and never came back.

However you chose to say it, the damn amnesiac bear was dead to the world.

As far as he could tell there was nothing wrong with the ingrate furball. No fever, no injuries (external or internal) and his heart was still beating. He'd even tried placing a plate of pancakes and (later) fresh salmon in front of the bear. Not even a twitch. It was like he was hibernating, only something stranger.

"Gilbird, what should I do? Canada is nowhere to be found and I am stuck with Knut."

"Peep!"

"Australia? Why him?"

"Peep! Peep!"

"You're right Gilbird! That guy's obsessed with animals, he might know what's wrong. And if not he could look after the bear until I track down Maple boy."

"Peep!"

"Kesesesesese. Laß uns gehennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!"

Hoisting the unconscious bear under one arm, Prussia promptly began running through the hotel's corridors to find Steven. Though, after he scared several hotel staff, along with many non-nations (who had had the misfortune of booking a room at the same hotel during the same time as the World Meeting) and escaping Hotel Security (for the above), Gil decided it would be safer just to get the room assignments from his brother.

Now where could the stick-in-the-mud be? So many corridors, so little time.

Let's go left.

The screams that emanated from that direction indicated that he'd found the woman's change room for the sauna. This was turning out to be a very long day was all he could think as he ran away from an enraged Hungarian and a certain overprotective brother.

* * *

~Two Hours Later~

* * *

Looking up from the rooming list, Gil thought "Australia and Northern Ireland are in the same room? Wow, and I thought it was odd when I ended up with Hong Kong. Did Sverge just draw names out of a hat and stick them in the same room?... Meh. Doesn't matter."

Knocking on the door, Gil was promptly answered by an extremely irate Northern Ireland "What do you think you are doing knocking on the door this early in the bleeding morning? Cause I'll have you know some of us have to work later..."

Gil promptly interrupted with "You know it's eleven in the morning on a Saturday right?"

"Oh...well then." Looking somewhat embarrassed, she quickly rallied herself and said "It's still to early to be up at this god-forsaken hour. What do you want then Kraut?"

Sighing to himself at the lovely welcome (though really he shouldn't have been expecting any less, she WAS related to England after all) Gil responded with "I need to talk to Australia. Is he there?"

"Yeah he's here, give me a moment, I'll get him" With that, she turned and disappeared into the darkness of the room.

"I bet I can tell which nations drunk a little bit to much last night. Wonder why I wasn't invited..." Gil thought before a smack sound resounded and an enormous groan was heard from the room. Shuffling the weight of the carrier to the other side (where he'd hidden the bear after the mornings escapades), he waited for an exhausted Australia to trudge to the door.

"G'day. What canna I do for you?"

"Well, I have a sick animal here and I was wondering if you could take a look at him for me. Nothing I do seems to help"

At the mention of the words sick and animal, Steven brightened up considerably.

"Sure mate. I'd be happy to help the little fella." gesturing for Prussia to come inside he continued "What kinda creature is he? A cat? A bitzer?"

Glad to finally put that bear down (Gott, he was heavy.* How did the kid carry him around all the time?), he replied with "Polar Bear. Canada's to be specific."

Steven froze for a moment from where he was collecting supplies.

"Then why do you have his bear? He's NEVER separated from that bear."

He began advancing towards the Prussian

"Where is he?"

Looming over Gilbert, he then proceeded to ask :

"What have you done with my brother Figjam? "

Whipping out a very sharp looking knife out of nowhere, he continued with "And, if I don't like your answer, I'm gonna make your stay in Russia look like a cakewalk. Preferably with sharks."

* * *

***A 7 month old male bear, (which is about Kuma's size) is 50 kilograms/110 pounds. This is equivalent of carrying around an average (5ft 5in/165 cm) 14 year old boy. They're reallllllly heavy. But cute.**

* * *

Translations

 _"Câlisse"_ (Québecois slang- F**k)

 _Laß uns gehennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn_!" (Ger-Let's goooooooooooo!)

 _A bitzer_ (Australian slang- mongrel dog)

 _Figjam_ (Aus- F*ck I'm good; just ask me". Nickname for someone with a big ego)


	4. Chapter 4

**I still do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

Surprised by the change in the other nation's demeanour and the knife at his throat, Gilbert cautiously replied "I don't know where the boy is. I was also really surprised when I saw the fuzzball by himself last week and I've been trying to track Canada down since then. I don't suppose you know where he is?" and almost as an afterthought "And what the heck's a Figjam?'

Somewhat satisfied by the other's answer, Australia put the knife away and resumed getting his equipment as he responded with "Figjam? You don't need to know. Besides that; no I haven't seen Canada in the past week, though that might be more my fault than his. He's always fading in and out with the background, you know?"

Walking over and putting his materials near the carrier, he continued with "Though this has me worried now. Ever since we were ankle biters, he's always had Kuma with him – they are inseparable. That's why I kinda overreacted earlier." Taking a deep breath as if to steady himself, he continued with "Ah, well. Let's take a look at the boyo. He might be able to give us some answers"

Opening the door to the carrier, Steven reached inside and gently grabbed the cub, pulling him out. Laying the bear on the ground, he quickly did a thorough check up- checking his ears, stomach, teeth, eyes and such for fever, injuries, distension, hardness (for internal bleeding), swelling or lumps. "He's been like this for a week?" He said gesturing to the limp bear. After Prussia gave an affirmative, Australia gave the same prognosis as Gil had. "It doesn't look like anything's wrong with him, but the bear shouldn't ever be this out of it. Not even during hibernation (though polar bears do not hibernate) or having been drugged, leads to a bear being like this for that long- completely unresponsive to its surroundings."

Australia continued his work in silence until Gilbert's mind fully registered all that was said

"Wait... bears aren't completely out of it during hibernation?"

"Nah. Unlike bats and such, bears sleep light. They are still aware somewhat of their environment and will respond to it, even if it is in a somewhat lethargic fashion"

Well that would explain why Matt refused to show him where bears hibernate so Gil could a picture of himself sitting on a Grizzly. Huh. There went that plan. It wasn't that he was afraid (a totally unawesome emotion), it was just that he didn't want to make Matt mad by killing a bear and... that and he wasn't particular suicidal at any point. Blinking back those thoughts, he returned to the topic at present "What should I do with sleepy here then?"

"I'm not sure exactly..."

Just then, Kathleen came back in looking considerably chipper carrying a cup of coffee. Which she promptly dropped upon seeing Kumajiro stretched out on the floor.

Tackling the albino and straddling him, a knife in hand (where had THAT come from?) she promptly demanded in a quiet, deadly voice "Why. Do. YOU. Have. My. SON'S. Bear?" A knife once again at his throat (was it threaten Prussia day or something?), the aura she was exuding could rival Russia's at the moment. (Somewhere Ivan sneezed)

Exasperated with all the scrutiny he had been getting, Prussia answered tersely with "I found him sitting in the rain on Hallowe'en, right before the sun went down with a bit of string in his mouth. As I came up to him, he looked up, mumbled "Who?" then passed out. No I don't know why, and I don't know where Matt is now! So would you lot stop bringing knives into this!"

Kathleen just paled before leaning forward and shouting, "DO YOU STILL HAVE THE STRING!"

Having just dodged having his head kebab-ed by the Irish woman's knife (who had forgotten she was still holding it), he quickly answered "Yes! Just... put that knife down before you hurt someone! Namely the awesome me!" Fishing around in his pocket, Gil pulled it out and handed it to the *couch*crazy*cough* Irish lady. "Here you go. Though I'm not sure why I kept it. It doesn't look like anything special."

After a quick examination, she got off him and placed the knife beside her before leaning back against the bed with a sigh. "This is, or was, Matthew's. You are right in thinking it is not anything special. Not anymore, anyway. This is a pisreog, and it's to protect an individual from the Fae" A glare from the redhead kept Gil and Steve from laughing. "The only reason it would've snapped like this is if an extremely powerful magical being touched it. We need to call his boss to see if anything has happened there."

Neither of them moved.

"NOW!... MOVE IT!... There's no time to be wasting!"

Australia, familiar with his aunt's mood swings, quickly went out of the room to go call the Canadian Prime Minister. It would be about four in the afternoon in Ottawa. He'd still be at his desk. Right?... Please let him be there.

While the Aussie did that, Gil turned to the Irish women and belatedly asked "Matt's your son? I thought he was Francis's." As he asked this, he slowly reached over and began to fish the knife from off the ground and away from the unsettled personification. Subtly because he was awesome like that.

In a more subdued fashion (for one of the British Isles anyway), she answered "No, he is not my son in the literal sense, but me and Bruce (Scotland) raised Matthew after he came to live with Arthur. The moron was too busy with America to pay attention to any of the others. We ended up looking after the lot of them- India, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, you know, the rest of the brood. In my mind they are my children." Glaring at the other now, she added grabbing Gil's hand in a bone crushing grip "And I'm VERY protective of them."

When Australia came back in the air, he was met with a rather tense atmosphere. Sighing he said, "It took me a while, but I found out that all of Matt's "kids" are comatose. Have been since Hallowe'en. The poor man's been afraid this entire time that if word got out that he might be invaded."

Solemnly, Kathleen began to speak "That seals the deal in my mind. I know you lot are sceptical when it comes to magic and the fae but you must believe me when I say they exist. That bear," she gestured to Kumajiro "is Maitiú's Anamchara. The fact that I cannot see the tie that binds them together as I can see yours between the bird and the koala, signifies that something has broken it." Ignoring the pair's protest that the "Bird" and "Koala" had names, she carried on "However, the fact that the bear, the land and the others are still here, requires Matthew's continued existence so he still lives. Yet, no matter where on Earth you travel, these bonds should stay intact. This means, Matthew is no longer on this world, but is somewhere else." She paused, looking down at her clenched hands before looking at them both in the eye, gravely saying "There are precious few places where the bonds will not stretch to. My guess is that he is now trapped in Tír na nÓg, The Land of the Ever-Young, where Faeries and more dwell..."

Kathleen unclenched her hands allowing them both to see how they shook "Which means we have no time to lose. This is not the first time such a thing has happened. Not by a long shot. Most who have travelled between our two worlds do so willingly and are prepared for what they face there and so make it back safely. But in a few cases, it happened by accident; the most recent case was an arrogant brat of a nation. He wandered onto a Foidín mearaí and disappeared for three years. After the third year, his land just suddenly broke apart and sank into the ocean after he was killed for even we can die there. His story is now regarded as myth, but I remember what happened to the foolish Atlantis."

Looking fiercely up at the two of them, she continued with "And I will not let that happen to Matthew."

* * *

Translations

 _Figjam_ (Aus- F*ck I'm good; just ask me". Nickname for someone with a big ego)

 _Ankle biters_  (Australian- kids)

 _Pisreog_ (Gaelic- fairy charm)

 _Maitiú's_  (Gaelic- Matthew)

 _Anamchara_  (Gaelic- soul partner)

 _Foidín mearaí_ (Gaelic- land on which fae can lead you astray)


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

Neither Steven nor Gilbert could bring themselves to mock her for her belief in the fae, unlike Arthur, but neither could bring themselves to believe her. Especially over something that could be this serious.

Looking back and forth between their faces, Kathleen quickly came to realize this and it made her beyond angry. "Do ye' think I'm spoffing? Slagging ye? That I'm still fluthered? That the Na Daoine Sídhe do not exist and I'm making it all up?"

Taking their blank looks as an affirmative she grabbed both their hands and proceeded to drag them out of the hotel towards a nearby forest.

"I'll show you I'm not barmey. I'll get you te' meet 'em. Ye' gobdaws!"

As soon as they got deeper in the forest, the Irishwoman let go of them and kept going deeper into the forest. The moment her back was turned Prussia leaned over to an equally bewildered Australia and asked

"Do you have a clue what she said?"

"Nope... You've got Buckley's chance of understanding her when she's like this; madder then a cut snake."

After a brief moment of silence, Prussia looked over at him and said "I have no idea what you just said. What's with you English types and coming up with weird sayings that no one else understands?"

"Um... When she's angry, she's impossible to understand...or something like that. Huh. Guess you're right with the English thing, I never noticed. It doesn't really happen with German at all?"

"Not that I've noticed"

"Y'e should earwig on the blues between the Oldies and Eyebrows. Can't understand a word"

"I just didn't"

"Right... Let's see. Um. You should hear the fights between Scotland, Wales, North Ireland and Ireland get into with England"

"Ah. Why couldn't you just say that?"

Before their conversation could continue, another voice broke in.

"BOYS you are LAGGING! "

"Talk about this later?" Prussia asked.

"Sounds good."

And they hurried to catch up

* * *

~Time Skip~

* * *

Armed now with the knowledge from their sojourn in the forest (scheiße that had been beyond creepy), Prussia and Australia quickly made their way to Germany's room. They were gonna need his help if they wanted to bring this issue up in the next meeting.

Why Germany? The answer is simple. They needed to get the attention of other nations who could remember and who cared for Matthew without letting the other nations know of Canada's absence. Despite the fact that the Canadian was on good terms with nearly every nation here, not many would pass up the opportunity to get more land, so they needed to be as careful as possible. Germany (being the OCD person that he is) would be able to gain the attention of the others through Kumajiro without bringing undue attention to the situation. He could also probably lift the bear easiest out of them all as well as he was (as Australia put it) built like a brick shithouse.  **  
**

"Alright then, before we bother West, do we have the bribes?"

"Yup!"

"Freshly cooked wurst?"

"Check!"

"Beer?"

"Check again!"

"A carefully written out explanation and check list of what we want, in proper format?"

"...Something like it, me n' Kathleen gave it a burl."

"...AWESOME! Knock away!"

Knocking on the door, they were surprised when no one answered.

"West?" Gilbert then proceeded to pound on the door "Weeeeeeest! C'mon! Open up"

"Bruder? What are you doing to my door?" Germany asked tiredly from behind them.

"Westen!"

"Arvo!" said Australia cheerfully. "We got some Amber fluid and some food for you t'e Bog in to. Me n' Bludger here, have got a proposition for you."

Taking the beer and plate of wurst all Germany could do was stare blankly at the two before asking, very calmly, "WAS?"

"Australia, I know what you're taking about and I totally didn't understand a word of that. Completely unawesome when you do that." Prussia said as he dragged his brother and Steven into Ludwig's room. "Here West, it's explained in this letter..."

* * *

~Time Skip Again. To the end of the Meeting~

* * *

"Does anyone have anything else to add?" Asked Sweden as he began to pack up his papers.

Germany raised his hand.

"Germany?"

Ludwig stood up and addressed the room. "Yes." Lifting Kuma from his hiding place under the table, he continued with "I found this bear wandering around the hotel yesterday. As I have been unable to contact the owner, I would appreciate it if anyone who knows this bear could meet me in Room 150A after we adjourn. Danke."

Berwald gave him a strange look but continued with "Anyone else? Good. W're finished for the day."

As Prussia, Germany and Australia (Northern Ireland was unable to attend the meeting but said she'd meet them there) made their way upstairs. Germany asked "Not that I'm questioning your motives at all bruder but why didn't you just ask Amerika, Frankreich and England about Kanada?

It was Australia who answered him "Seppo, the Root Rat and Pommy? Despite them being 'close' family, they don't even notice him! It's been a week and a half now since he's gone missing and they haven't realized. If they're here and recognized Kuma, I'll be surprised. We need others who can at least remember his name."

They had reached the door at the same time as Kathleen opened it.

"What are ye lot doing blathering on out here. Get your arses in here! Gits!"

When they came inside they got inside they were met with 8 others.

Ukraine, Hong Kong, South Korea, Denmark, Egypt, the Netherlands and the Italy brothers stared back at the three of them.

"I already went over the basics with them and got those who'd be unable to help to leave. The majority of the Commonwealth and Francophonie that remember Matt are far too busy with their growing economies and internal affairs so I thought these guys would be best."

Taking the surprised silence between them as consent to keep going with the issue at hand she continued "The eleven of you will be training with me everyday so that you will be prepared for the other side. Your conventional weapons will not be enough, anything modern or made of metal over there will not work nor will anything CREATED by anything modern work. So your guns, compasses, knives and other technology will be completely useless to you. The training is to remind you of older fighting styles and the use of older weapons. Furthermore, it won't be until the winter solstice before myself, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Titania will even be able to send you after Matthew. So for the next two months we'll be using your free time to get you ready."

Katyusha, slowly lifted her hand with tears in her eyes "So, Matvey is trapped until the 21st of December?"

Kathleen sighed and shook her head. "With the dwindling belief in magic and in superstition, our power has been waning so that we can no longer freely travel between the two realms. In fact it will require four of us and the power of a High Fae in order to get you across on the solstice. It is only on these old "pagan" days that we are able to muster up enough energy. So on the 21st, the eleven of you will also be trapped there from Yule up until Imbolc, Ostara, Beltaine, Litha, Mabon or until Hallowe'en again at the latest. We will do our best to keep in contact with you so as soon as you find Matt, we can bring you back. At the moment though, we have no idea where the lad is... and unless you're able to find him before the 31st of October next year, he will never be able to return to this world again."

* * *

**AN-** **Please forgive any and all language mistakes in the chapter, I tried to be accurate to the characters but it's quite possible that I got a wrong word (especially with the slang ._.') Please correct me, or make suggestions!**

* * *

Translations

 _spoffing_  (Irish slang- lying)

 _Slagging_  (Irish slang-making fun)

 _Fluthered_  (Irish slang-Drunk)

 _Na Daoine Sídhe_  (Gaelic-The Fae)

 _Barmey_  (Irish slang-crazy)

 _Gobdaws_  (Irish slang-morons)

 _Buckley's chance_  (Aus slang- no chance)

 _Madder than a Cut Snake_  (Aus slang- seriously Pissed off)

 _Earwig-(_ Aus slang- eavesdrop)

 _Blues-_  (Aus slang- fights)

 _Oldies-_  (Aus slang- parents)

 _scheiße-_  (Ger- shit)

 _Built like a brick shithouse_ \- (Aus slang- a really strong person)

 _Burl_  (Aus slang- try)

 _Arvo_  (Aus slang- Afternoon)

 _Amber fluid_  (Aus slang- Beer)

 _Bog in_  (Aus Slang- Eat w. Enthusiasm)

 _Bludger_  (Aus slang- Lazy person)

 _Seppo_ (Aus slang- unflattering terms for American)

 _Root Rat_  (Aus slang-someone who "gets around"

 _Pommy_ (Aus slang- unflattering terms an English man)

 _Imbolc, Ostara, Beltaine, Litha, Mabon_  (all important pagan days- solstices/equinoxes)


	6. Chapter 6

**Hetalia does not belong to me. Neither does Titania or Oberon.**

* * *

The silence that met that announcement was immediately broken by an indignant Prussia "What do you mean we can't begin looking for him until December 21st! It's the 10th of November today! That's more then a month away! You said earlier that we can DIE over there and we are waiting a month? A whole _MONTH!_  What about what Titania told us? Time passes differently there! What if something happens to him? What if..."

Here he was interrupted by Denmark, his voice oddly grave: "Preussen, not all of us have the benefit of knowing exactly what's going on. I mean, we got the summary, but I think we'd all like to know more of the details. A one-sided conversation is not going to help us help Matthew. What  **exactly**   **happened**? I don't like being in the dark."

Gilbert sat up straighter and looked around the room. Since this entire mess started, he'd done nothing but think of what could be happening to his friend, it hadn't occurred to him that others might share his feelings. Hong Kong and Egypt were sitting there, stoic as always but the others concern was more evident. Romano was sitting there, for once not shouting at his bruder. South Korea was sitting there without shouting how the solstices originated with him. North Italy was sitting there attentively- not daydreaming at all. Ukraine was in tears (though she was frequently). Netherlands was playing with his pipe, a nervous habit of his, something he only did when upset. Denmark. DENMARK of all people, was being serious (he'd known this guy for centuries and he could count such moments on one hand!).

He wasn't alone. Here was Canada's adoptive family, the ones who remembered him, watched out for him and just generally cared for the boy. How or why they remembered him was irrelevant, they were here and they wanted him back just as badly as he did.

Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, he turned Australia , he asked "Do you want to explain or shall I?"

"Nah, go ahead. If y'e don't mind, it'd be great if I could try t'e catch forty winks meanwhile though, I feel exhausted."

"Alright then you pansy, go nap." Australia quickly stuck his tongue out at Gilbert before shuffling to the couch in the room and collapsing on it. "So let's see, North Ireland dragged me and the unawesome Schlafmütze here (Steven gave him the one finger salute here), out into the forest..."

* * *

_~Flashback start~_

_"Are we there yet?" Gilbert called out to their guide._

_They'd been walking for over an hour, the sun was going down and the insects were coming out. Worst of all a light mist was setting in._

" _Sorry Kraut I did nae catch that."_

_Growling in the back of his throat, he shouted "Are we there yet? Because it's late, it's cold and I have insects biting me where no bug has the right to bite"_

_"Awwww muffin."  Was the patronizing response._

_Another just as tired voice piped up behind Prussia. "Aunt Kathleen, he's not kiddin', the Bities are_ _bad. I'm gonna be nothin' but a big bite tomorra'"_

_"Belt up boyos. We're nearly there... Wimps."_

_Shortly after they found themselves in a huge clearing with an enormous rock in the middle of it, which was covered in intricately carved runes._

_"Hush boy" she quickly looked over at the setting sun then glanced at her watch, "They should be crossing over any moment now." With that, a soft light began illuminating the clearing and little pricks of light came out. "Right on cue, lads. Told ye I was nae barmey" the Irishwoman said with a smile._

_"Um... Aunt Kathleen. I don't know how to phrase this without upsetting you, but I only see some fireflies." said Steven and Gilbert nodded in confirmation._

_At this though, she just laughed. "I forgot ye don't have the Sight." Walking back through the long grass, she grabbed them both by the wrist and said "Close your eyes."_

_A few seconds later she said "Open them, this should do for now though it will wear off in an hour or two."_

_Gilbert and Steven slowly opened their eyes again and were astounded by what they saw. Gone was the quiet, abandoned clearing of before and in it's place was, well, the most stunning, ethereal party ever. And the party guests. There were tiny fae flitting about in the air, whereas there were the larger spirits and elementals moving about, dancing drinking and eating. Prussia swore that he saw someone who looked like one of those Blue people from that movie that America had dragged him to and someone else had 4 eyes and that one had a tail and and and, it was all too much. The two of them would've stood there gaping for a while had not Kathleen hissed at them "I know how overwhelming it is. I've been there but close your mouth or a bug will fly in. We need to find Titania and Oberon quickly. Remember your manners, they are not like us and are not quick to forgive."_

_She started forward, then when neither of them followed, she darted back and said "Now you wankers!" and then she added as an afterthought "And do not touch or eat anything. There are dangers even here, there are reasons there are as many fairy trickster stories as there are helpful ones. It wouldn't do for you to be turned into something or lose yourself"_

_Eventually Kathleen seemed to find someone (something?) that she recognized and within a few minutes they were in the presence of_ _Na Daoine Sídhe royalty. Kathleen immediately began talking rapidly in a dialect that neither nation standing behind her could understand and Titania answered back just as quickly in the same tongue. As the conversation went, Kathleen looked increasing more and more angry to the point where you almost see the veins in her face (like in those Animes Kiku makes)._

_Shortly thereafter though, Titania turned, leaving Kathleen to speak to Oberon and said to the two of them in lilted English "Welcome to our court, may you stay and be merry while the formalities are being looked after. If I may be so bold, I extend a warm welcome back to you Prussia. It has been far too long since you last came here."_

" _Ee...entschuldigen Sie?"_

_Ignoring the stuttering albino she continued, "Last I saw you, you were but knee high and you and little Ludwig found yourselves in our court along with two of your people- called Grimm or something. The humans were quite enthralled with the stories told here and stayed with us for many a week but you left within the hour with your brother. Muttering about temptation and damnation. It was quite cute. Pity, I was unable to keep you two here, you would've made fine additions to the court." She leaned forward and caressed his cheek "Shall you stay this time to revel perhaps?"_

_Gilbert stiffened and nearly cursed at her but remembered Kathleen's warning and instead ground out "Pity that I do not remember our last encounter, for I would surely treasure such a memory. Though I do indeed wish to join in this party, I am unable, for I am too concerned for my friend's welfare to be able to...revel."_

" _Pity indeed. How about you, young Australia, do you care do dance?" said the fairy Queen as she began to invade the other nation's personal space._

_Australia (who'd been rather enjoying Prussia's discomfort) froze and quickly muttered out "That'd be...nice but I' also worried for my Rellie to enjoy myself as I aught."_

_Sighing, she stood and turned to her husband who seemed quite amused by the proceedings and said "I guess it cannot be helped. Fair husband, have you summoned dear Puck? There is a matter that must be discussed."_

_On cue, a small imp appeared beside Oberon and said "You called?"_

" _Yes Puck, I have summoned thee to answer to a small bit of mischief you have caused. Caitlìn has called in a boon from me for aide and for retribution for your actions."_

_"What specifically have I done to offend?"_

_Here Kathleen cut in "_ _Robin Goodfellow, you have irked me beyond belief. Your Queen has informed me that you saw fit to push one of my charges through the veil into the Tír na nÓg. Now you shall give me your reasons or you will have to find yourself a new name. Perhaps Robyne or Rosa would better suit when I'm finished with you."_

_Quickly distancing himself from the Irishwoman, the fae replied "That was not my doing. In fact, I did my utmost to prevent it, but the event was beyond my control. He would not listen to me and forced my hand. You know that I deal in mischief not cruelty!"_

_"Explain. Who is "he""_

_"The drunken sorcerer, he knew my true name and knew that I would be able to break through the protection surrounding the boy so he summoned he and forced me to do it. I tried to stop him, telling him that there were horrific dangers there, sending someone without warning would likely resort in their death but he just laughed and answered that he'd get him back on the solstice. That it would but the blink of an eye. I told him that the way time flows there had changed since he last visited there but he would not listen. He felt it was the best way to punish America and overrode my objections. I was made to push him and here I thought England had given up his grudge against the lad. I sent Cheshire after him though to watch over him"_

_Kathleen just deeply sighed and sat down. "Of course it was Arthur. He's the only one among us who sees magic as a way to solve all problems. Stupid toff"_

_Gilbert cleared his throat "So what does that mean for Matt? And what do you mean the time is different?"_

_Titania cleared her throat delicately and said "After our two worlds separated due to man's increasing greed and ignorance, they continue to drift. The closer they are, the way time passes changes. When England last crossed, it was the closest we've been for the past millennium so that a month on your side was the same as an hour there. We've since drifted apart again so a day here might be a year or a decade. Time means little to us so we do not notice its passing; due to this I am regrettably unable to say for certain."_

_Looking at the three stricken faces before she added "And I hope for the sake of your friend that it is as little as that. However if he has Cheshire with him, he should still be alive and well in both mind and body; so relax and revel a little." With that she skipped back into the throngs of party goers with Oberon close behind._

_Needless to say they left soon after that._

_~Flashback ends~_

* * *

Gilbert looked up at the stupefied faces surrounding him, from Germany to Ukraine to Denmark, all had the weirdest looks on their faces. It would've been funny in other circumstances. Finally, it was Lars who broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Klote hel, someone needs to smack some sense into that idiot."

And for once everyone agreed.

* * *

Matt looked miserably at the sky and then to his companion, Cheshire. Sure, they'd had a rough start (being jumped on and licked by a giant cat was not a pleasant first impression) but they'd been peacably travelling for several years now. Though how many, Matt wasn't really sure, they just all kinda blended together after a while – kinda like they had in his childhood. The Katerz looked similar to a snow leopard, spots and all but had a lions tail and oversized ears. As his name sake suggested though, he could turn as invisible as himself but beyond that, it was hard to tell that he was any sort of magical creature.

Gods, he wished it would stop raining.

Next to him the great cat just stretched and yawned, showing very, very sharp teeth before rumbling out "Any signs of it clearing?"

"No, not at all."

"Damn" With that Cheshire rolled over and went back to sleep and Matt just went back to looking out the mouth of the cave.

Doing what he'd been doing for the past something years- trying to see if anything was coming through the curtain of rain and hoping against hope that it might be someone he knew.

Someone to take him home.

"Je me souviens." He whispered to the air.

A few minutes later he continued with "Je peux seulement espérer que quelqu'un d'autre pourrait éventuellement aussi."

And with that thought his self control broke down and cried for the first time in years into the soft fur of his only remaining friend.

* * *

**AN- There be some angst for you. Annnnnnnnngst.**

**If I've in any way, shape or form mangled your language in this please let me know! I'm only fluent in English and French (specifically Québecois) any other language snippets come from books, what I've learned in my German class or a online translator.**

**Cheshire is a made up type of Cheshire cat (like from Alice in Wonderland only a bit bigger) called a Katerz**

* * *

Translations

 _Catch forty winks-_ (Aus- have a nap)

 _Schlafmütze_ \- (Ger- sleepy-head)

 _One finger Salute-_ Common English expression- to flip someone the "bird" (middle finger)

 _Bities-_ (Aus- bugs that bite. Usually used to refer to mosquitoes)

 _Na Daoine Sídhe_ (Gaelic- The Fae)

 _Entschuldigen Sie_ (Ger- Excuse me?)

 _Rellie_ \- (Aus- Relative)

 _Caitlìn_  (Gaelic-Kathleen)

 _Tír na nÓg –_ (Gaelic- The Land of the Ever-Young, the Summer Land)

 _Kalte hel_ \- (Dutch- F**king Hell, apparently is a common curse)

 _Je me souviens. Je peux seulement espérer que quelqu'un d'autre pourrait éventuellement aussi_ (French- I remember. I can only hope that eventually someone else might too.)


	7. Chapter 7

**Katyusha is Ukraine, Kaoru is Hong Kong, Mathias Køhler is Denmark, Lars is the Netherlands, Bruce is Scotland, Pat is South Ireland, Aneiren is Wales. The first four are common fan names (as far as I know they don't have actual ones) and then the other three are common names in their respective countries according to Google.**

**I do not own Hetalia, or Google or anything else.**

* * *

How long had it been? How long until this had become his way of life? When purple skies seemed normal and the idea of one moon bizarre? When his time in his country seemed more dreamlike then this world he was in now? Why was he so indifferent to this now?

He'd grown used to this land. He knew how to avoid the darker, more dangerous creatures. He knew how to tell when his prey was a shapeshifted creature or not and which animals to avoid completely. He knew how to tell what was a magical contract and what was just a favour. He knew the language of the land more so now then he even knew his native tongue. He had even learned a bit of magic when he went to stay with the elves for a bit.

Though it was too bad, he was unable to do more than cause a spark, heal a small injury or create a small shield. K'irean, his teacher, had said that it was due to some sort of very old, powerful binding spell, one that could not be removed unless he died. They had managed to loosen its hold a bit so he was able to do that minimal amount but still. The weird thing is that apparently it appeared to be self-inflicted, but why would he choose to bind away his magic? He hadn't even known he'd had it in the first place! The concept was absurd.

Chesh had left him a while ago, said he'd be back soon, just that he'd been summoned by his lord Oberon and lady Titania. He was needed. Something was wrong. He said he'd come back.

That's what they all said.

Liars.

It was odd that this no longer really bothered him. A bit of time ago, after Chesh had left ( a month, a decade, Who knew?) Matt had given up. He could no longer live like this. Even when he was little he had a companion in Kumajiro and back then he hadn't even known what the word alone meant. But now… The endless loneliness had started to take a toll on his mind. He couldn't do this anymore. But Canada could, so he had taken over and Matt had gone to sleep.

He stood, finishing cleaning of the spear he'd use to bring down the dire-bear before setting it back in its holster by his quiver. It was quite the stroke of luck as he now had some food (he'd run out of pemmican a week ago) and with winter was coming so once he dried the skins out properly, he would have some warmer clothes. Gone was the business suit that he'd worn when he fell and in its place was his more traditional garb. Drawing a knife from his belt, he began to prepare the meat and started a fire.

What did it all matter anyway?

* * *

Once the admission that what little they knew of the whole affair was cleared up, the room settled into a debate about what was to be done.

North Ireland again said that they were going to be trained in the old weapons again and had set a time, date and location for the first training session. And then left. So that was settled, what they were arguing was more how they were going to keep Canada's disappearance a secret and then their own. After all, once they went through, they'd be in the same boat as Matthew- provinces/territories/lands attached to them would be incapacitated and their lands vulnerable to invasion. This was going to take quite a bit of tact.

Spain would notice if Romano disappeared (though he can be a bit oblivious, he would. Probably) just as Belgium and Luxemburg would notice if their Broer vanished and Russia would certainly notice if his сестра did. If only because Belarus would then be ten times as clingy and there would be no Katyusha to free him. The Nordics might enjoy the peace of not having Mathias around but they would notice his absence still. Egypt and Hong Kong were fairly self-reliant, their "relatives" might still come if only because they're looking for a place to hide (China from Russia or England from France or Cyprus from Turkey/Greece). People would notice if Ludwig wasn't there as meetings would promptly descend and remain in chaos and there would be no smell of pasta in the air which would point out North Italy's absence. All the Asian nations would miss Yong Soo, if only for his habits of claiming that everything originated from him and claiming...certain "things" for Korea.

The best suggestion they could think of would be to enlist the help of the members of the Commonwealth who knew already of Matthew's disappearance. If they played their cards right, the rest of the nations would simply think that they'd gone on a cruise to visit Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand and India among other places. It could work.

As all this was going on Gilbert sat there in silence, resting his head on his hands. He hadn't moved since he finished explaining their run in with the fae nor had he said anything. Ludwig's eyebrows furrowed in concern. Something was up. He could feel it.

After the meeting Ludwig easily pulled Gilbert aside and into one of the adjacent rooms. Looking at him in the eye, he said "Bruder, you may be able to fool everyone else but I know you. I've known you for a very long time and I can tell something else is bothering you." When Gil opened his mouth to interrupt, Ludwig held up his hand and continued "And don't try to tell me different! You haven't been using the word awesome every few sentences. Was ist los?"

Sighing Gilbert looked right back him and muttered something along the lines of "He was the older brother dammit" before succumbing to Ludwig's concerned TALK NOW glare. "It's just that over the past few days or so, I don't…feel myself, I guess is the best way to explain it. I am getting tired after just one hundred laps of the track. I feel weaker, kind of like something is slipping away from me. I didn't want to mention it as I didn't want anyone to fuss (Lord how he hated it when people did that. It wasn't awesome fawning but was just obnoxious). I just figured this is what worry must feel like. Don't worry about it"

Worried slightly by the admission, Ludwig vowed to be extra alert for signs of his brother fading though he allowed himself to be placated by Prussia's explanation. For now. In response he nodded and said "Alright Bruder, but I want you to  **TELL ME** if something changes. Ja?"

Pushing open the door to the room, Gilbert turned and nodded his compliance.

* * *

The next few weeks for the eleven of them were hell. The British Isles were by no means pushovers especially in the older weapons they were long since masters of. The weapons they were learning (re-learning in some cases) to use were either of stone or bronze, anything else they'd be unable to bring over. To make it even harder for them to even obtain the weapons in the first place, they had to find some that had not come in contact with any of the forbidden elements:

Silver was banned due to the werewolves.

Any Iron or other "Cold Metals" were banned by the fae (though they still loved gold, copper and other fine metals)

Garlic or holy water for the vampires and other dark creatures.

The list went on.

So after an extremely long and arduous process they were able to obtain enough for each of them but they decided to put them to the side and practice with other weapons. Just in case. After all the Italies were known for cooking with garlic for their pasta, Ukraine had silver barrettes and both Prussia and Germany were constantly fiddling with the Iron Crosses on their necks. Better safe than sorry; they didn't want to have to repeat the entire process due to a foolish mistake and brief contact. After all of this trouble, they were finally able to begin.

They had no idea what they were getting in to.

* * *

It was official. This entire situation he found himself was mental. He was absolutely nuts for agreeing to do this. The light was on but no one is home. Invest in a nice padded room. He'd lost his marbles. Barmy. Cracked. Elevator doesn't go to the top. Not playing with a full deck. However you say it, he, Australia, was mad for agreeing to this and the rest of them were just as unhinged as him.

What other explanation could there be when one finds oneself facing off against your 5'4" uncle with his face painted blue*, swinging a sword bigger than your entire body and screaming bloody murder?

Well, it could just be a normal family reunion for him (yah, his family's reeeeeeally dysfunctional) but this was just a bit of a stretch.

Just then the giant sword hit the ground beside him.

Right. Focus.

Just like wrestling a croc or catching a snake, right? Just trap the mouth (would that be Bruce's head or sword?) and they all turn into sooks.

Easy.

.

..

...

Pfft. Hah. Hahahaha. He was so doomed.

* * *

"Failin means yer a l's playin!" Scotland was shouting at Germany who was getting increasingly frustrated by his inability to conduct a proper defence against the other with the sword.

* * *

Wales could be heard screaming across the field at Romano "Keep the heid!" as his temper got the better of him. Again.

* * *

"Now just hold on!" Pat shouted at Prussia who had just started to attack again without listening to the other's advice and had instead started to give his own pointers to the Netherlands who was fighting Aneiren beside him. Lars just began shouting his own (equally bad) advice to Gilbert. It took both British Isles dumping the two ass over teakettle to get their attention. "Dinnae teach yer Granny tae suck eggs! There's a reason we're doin' this, ye've gotten soft o'er the years boy! Listen instead of rushing, ye great lummox and ye might actually learn something!"

* * *

"Stop thinking! Just react! " Northern Ireland shouted at the hapless Korean.

* * *

"Sloppy footwork. You trying to dance?" Hong Kong.

* * *

"I'll gie ye a skelpit lug Dane!" Denmark.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Egypt.

* * *

"Guard UP!" Ukraine.

* * *

"EEJITS!" No one was safe. Northern Italy ran off to find a place to hide.

* * *

The list went on.

At least all of them were making progress – learning (or remembering as the case may be) how to fight with swords, knives, spears, hand axes and more. Except for North Italy, but in his case Kathleen just made him watch very attentively and try the moves by himself, but he never sparred. When asked why she just turned to them and said "It's no good trying to force him. He's not like you lot who are learning but he's having to meet some past trauma head on as well. It is fear that keeps him from fighting but I think it will take fear for him to move past it." and left the matter at that.

Between their never-ending paperwork and sparring practice, they began learning about magic and the world they'd soon find themselves in. They learned all about as many creatures as the British Isles could remember – from Fishers to Thunderbirds to Furies to Okamis. They even went over basic magic and everyone was pretty impressed when Germany (of all people) managed to light a fire with nothing but a quick word.

December arrived very quickly for them. A little too quickly perhaps

* * *

December 21st, across the pond, England felt something snap. Peony, a charming little fairy, who'd been talking to not even a moment before disappeared with a startled yell. It was as if someone had just cut a thread. Looking around his house, he was unable to find any of his supernatural friends, not even Flying Mint Bunny his familiar. Something was wrong.

Something had changed.

* * *

In his hotel room America again dreamed. Not his normal dreams though, these past few months he'd been having strange dreams of a land with purple skies and orange sand. He'd been everywhere here, to the top of the mountains to splunking in the caves. It was so much fun. It almost made him sad to wake up sometimes. Tonight was no different, tonight he was flying in a canoe as a voice hauntingly sang around him various tunes. He heard snippets of one slow mournful tune as the voice sang:

 _Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast,_  
Let your mountains dark and dreary be.  
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed,  
Will you ever heave a sigh or a wish for me?

Then it slowly changed to a faster tune as the wind picked up so he was barely able to hear the voice belting out something about

 _...farmers knowing the time at large_  and  _stealing wheat and barley and all the other grains..._

before transitioning again to a song about

_...being gone for a month and I've been drunk since I left._

However the wind again snatched the rest of it away before he could hear the rest. Other snippets of songs flew past his ears as they/he sailed through the wind currents hearing mutterings about  _jeunesse tu dois ton cul au ministaire_ and then something else about _a criminal mind is all I've ever had_ and having  _no sugar tonight in my coffee_.

It was only as they slowed and landed in a lake that he heard a full song.

 _Land of the silver birch_  
Home of the beaver  
Where still the mighty moose  
Wanders at will  
Blue lake and rocky shore  
I will return once more  
Boom-diddy-ah-da, Boom-diddy-ah-da, Boom-diddy-ah-da, bo-oo-oom

It was at this point that the front of the boat (canoe his mind corrected) touched down. Alfred found himself looking over the gunnels into the water to see what was in the water. His mind quietly shrieked at what he saw though.

 _Down in the Forest  
_ _Deep in the lowlands  
_ _My heart cries out for thee  
_ _Hills of the North  
_ _Blue lake and rocky shore_  
I will return once more  
Boom-diddy-ah-da, Boom-diddy-ah-da, Boom-diddy-ah-da, bo-oo-oom

That was not his face looking back at him, it looked similar but it was not. This face had purple eyes and his curl hung downwards, though the rest of his hair was short, reaaaally short. Maybe an inch at the most. Though it seemed familiar.

 _High on a rocky ledge_  
I'll build my wigwam  
Close to the water's edge  
Silent and still

Wait a second. He knew that face though it seemed a lot older. What was Matt doing in his dream?

 _Blue lake and rocky shore_  
I will return once more  
Boom-diddy-ah-da, Boom-diddy-ah-da, Boom-diddy-ah-da,

He reached over to touch his reflection and…

_bo-oo-oom._

Alfred woke up drenched in sweat. That had seemed far too real, the wind, the water.

He needed to go visit his brother.

Now.

After all, the hero could not ignore something so bizarre! He hadn't heard from his bro since… that meeting that he was pretty sure Matt was at. It was nearly Christmas, perfect excuse. It wasn't that the dream had scared him. Nope.

* * *

***This is not a reference to William Wallace. An ancient tribal group called the Picts by the Roman legionaries (meaning painted/tattooed people) used to do this. Wallace painting his face is a commonly disputed legend and likely did not happen.**

**Songs referenced are Farewell to Nova Scotia (a Wartime tune), The Last Saskatchewan Pirate by the Arrogant Worms, Home for a Rest by Spirit of the West, Dégénerations by Mes Äieux, A Criminal Mind by Gowan, No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature by the Guess Who and then (a classic possibly-Canadian canoeing song) Land of the Silver Birch.**

* * *

Translations

 _Was ist los- (_ German- What is wrong?)

 _Broer-_ (Dutch- Brother)

 _Сестра-_ (Russian- Sister)

 _sooks-_ (Aus slang- domesticated/tamed animal)

 _Failin means yer a l's playin-_ (Scot expression- When you fail, at least you're trying)

 _Keep the heid-_ (Welsh expression- Keep your wits about you, stay calm.)

 _Dinnae teach yer Granny tae suck eggs!-_ – (Irish expression- Don't try to teach someone something they already know)

 _I'll gie ye a skelpit lug!_  (Scottish/Irish I'll slap you )


	8. Chapter 8

**Hetalia is not owned by me. All literary figures or concepts mentioned belong to their respective owners, a.k.a- not me.**

* * *

Earlier on in the day prior to America's revelation, eleven Nations found themselves standing outside in the cold as the British Isles drew an enormous magical circle around them in the snow. It was very early in the morning so no one was really talking, with the exception of North Italy and South Korea who were in a heated discussion over their kinds of pasta and food. Regardless, the atmosphere was really subdued as the enormity of the situation weighed heavily on them.

Soon enough, it was ready. Just in time too, as the best time to complete the spell was before dawn and the sun was just beginning to rise, light creeping up over the horizon. The two Irelands stood on opposing points facing one another while Wales stood on Northern Ireland' s right and Scotland stood on her left, beside Southern Ireland. The space between Pat and Aneiren was for Titania who would provide the majority of the magic and act as a channel so that the eleven travellers would not end up in Hel, Pelennor Fields, Space, Hogwarts or some other dimension. Cause then they'd have 12 of them missing, which would be even harder (and more annoying) to fix.

The sudden pale illumination of the clearing along with the soft ringing of bells alerted the group to the arrival of the Fae Queen. During their training, they had all developed the Sight in some fashion or another and so they could see her clearly. This time though, she did not look so happy, in fact, she looked absolutely exhausted. So with a quick nod to the others, she went and took her place. The moment she stepped into the circle, the entire thing began to glow and the five magic wielders began to chant while forming gesturing with their hands.

 _Rolla, rolla, rolla leis an ghaoth_  
Ní luíonn's long réidh sa chuan  
Inniu an sean sí seolta

A light wind began to pick up

 _I bhfad ar shiúl ón talamh seo leis an deimhneacht_  
An tIarthar cheangal leis an talamh ar fiáin am Tír na nÓg  
Beidh na gaotha an athraithe buille tú ar shiúl

They began to chant faster.

 _Oíche agus lá, beidh dóchas do treoir_  
Tá Gorm na farraige ar uiscí agus is é an taoide ceart  
Ruadh spéir na hoíche, ná a ghlacadh fright

They began to feel a weird tingling sensation

 _rolla, rolla, rolladh amach_  
Searbh is féidir do imeacht a chur ach  
Ní bheidh tú dearmad

The magic wielders clapped their hands together and then smacked the ground announced the completion of the spell, and like that, they were gone.

.

..

...

Once the spell finished, a brief moment of silence was held as the wind died down and the snow resettled.

It was several moments of uncomfortable silence before Bruce turned towards Titania and said "Not that I'm ungrateful but you were late. Nearly too late for this to have worked. I'm not tryin' to reddin the fire but..."

Here the fae Queen interrupted him. "Bruce, I understand your concern, you've known me for a long time but this is beyond you." Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she looked and acted completely different then the immortal Gilbert and Steven met months prior. "Things have been quickly changing these past few months. The Land of Dreams is under siege and... we are losing. We are losing a war we only just realized we were fighting. We are standing on the brink of doom and it is all because of our arrogance! "

Pat quickly asked "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Titania looked at him, eyes mournful "There is nothing you can do. The witch is coming next for my people, as we are the only ones who can still freely cross between our two worlds but she wishes to return and conquer here." Standing, she brushes off her hands she began to walk away "We are closing and sealing the gates between us until we can settle the matter or at least trap it on our side. You will likely feel the recoil and watch your backs for strange behaviour, _she_ could have already managed to send someone over and anyone could be compromised."

Kathleen looked aghast and shouted "But what about Matt and the others! They'll be trapped there! And what do you mean compromised? What is going on? Why didn't you say anything before we sent them away?"

Titania turned and said cryptically "Only humans can save the Tír na nÓg at times like these. It will require the thirteen of them to begin to restore what is to be lost."

They all looked bewildered and Pat said confused "Thirteen? There are only eleven of them. Twelve counting Matt" while Aneiren shouted "Wait, what?" and Bruce yelled "They're not your pawns!", but she was already gone.

After which the Welsh personification completely lost his temper and proceeded to shout at the sky "duw yn dda chyfrgolla ', nid yw hyn yn dda!" before lapsing into various obscenities nasty things about impolite harlots who were incapable of clear explanations and their mothers.

And his siblings could not do anything but silently agree.

* * *

Later that night, the four of them were watching a classic British movie (The Third Man) when they felt the link snap. Suddenly the story between Cotten and Lime was no longer so interesting. It felt like someone had stolen their senses and then had them returned as pale imitations. Pat ran out of the room muttering that he was going to be sick.

They heard England shouting bloody murder from the kitchen as Peony disappeared and then as he was unable to find any of the others.

In Norway, Norge woke with a startled yell and frantically reached out with his mind in an effort to reach his troll friend. Nothing answered his call.

The Republic of Senegal was surprised as the Yumboes and their feast disappeared before his eyes leaving him alone in the moonlight.

China gave a startled yell as his draconic boss disappeared in front of him.

Everywhere around the world, any nation with magic remaining felt the recoil. The doors had been shut and it even manifested itself physically- colours became less vibrant and cloud covering seemed permanent. New Zealand looked up at the sky and the dark cloud framing his mountains before muttering something about that he better not have to destroy a ring – again.

* * *

On the Other Side:

Well. This certainly was interesting. It would appear they had successfully arrived but in the process they had somehow ended up like...this.

"I swear, potato bastard that had better be your dagger sticking into my back."

"Lovino, that's not me." Germany wheezed out "I'm presently being crushed by all of you and would appreciate if you got off of me"

"Then who's..."

"Your breasts belong to Korea! da~ze!" Oh. Well then.

"CHIGI!"

Hong Kong and Egypt who had had the fortune of not landing at the bottom of this impromptu dog pile immediately got up and began helping to free Germany.

Within a few minutes,once all of that had been sorted out (clothing brushed off, egos salvaged and all that good stuff) the eleven of them began looking around at their surroundings. They were in a fairly barren field with a forest way off in the distance with no sort of settlement in sight. Eventually, they just chose a direction and wandered that way, hoping it would bring them closer to Canada.

Just then, as they approached forest, they heard was a whistling noise as a small blue ball of light streaked towards them. Prussia seemed to recognize it as he paled (is that even possible?) and muttered "Bitte Gott, nein!" as he then dove behind a nearby tree. The others looked at him, then back to the approaching blue light then back at Prussia before they heard it.

"HEY LISTEN!"

At this Yong-Soo, Mathias and Kaoru also paled and went in joined in trying to find a hiding place. Ludwig and the others just stared, confused. "Um...Bruder. What are you doing?"

"Hiding from the annoying, unawesome fairy-devil!"

"Did not originate in Korea! Uwahhh!"

Alright then. He turned back toward the Italies, Ukraine, and Australia who were presently having a conversation with the little bug while Egypt and Netherlands were taking a nap. Weren't they a collection of motley idiots. He was truly beginning to regret not being able to bring something for his headaches.

"Germany! The fairy says we're going the wrong way! Ve~" North Italy said as he ran over and glomped Ludwig.

"Stay away from my fratello, potato bastard!"

"Fratello, that isn't very nice!"

"Hey Listen!" Ignored.

While the Italies bickered, Australia turned to Ludwig and said "Take a look over there. What's that?"

"Hey Listen!" Denied.

Well, that would be his brother and South Korea bothering something.

"Hey Listen!"

"WHAT!" shouted Germany.

"That's a carnivorous Draer!" the blue fairy said cheerfully.

A loud roar echoed over the plains and Gilbert and Yong-Soo were soon running away from what appeared to be a giant koala with over-sized canines and claws.

Australia did a double take "That's a Drop-Bear... but they're made up. A joke for tourists." he said surprised. He then shouted "Quick, Gilbert and Yong-Soo run in a circle 3 times, it'll disorient it!" and ran off after the hapless duo.

And with that, Ludwig decided this entire adventure officially was doomed.

Great.

Surprisingly enough, running in circles was an effective way of dealing with the Drop-Bear and also was a great way of getting dinner. Tasty, though Australia looked a little green eating it, though he did eat the same amount as every one else. After they were done, there was about an hour or so of quiet as everyone was left to their own thoughts before Egypt broke it, asking "If it isn't too imolite to ask, I have been wondering these past months as to to why do you remember Canada, North Italy? I was just thinking that you do not have the closest ties with him and I am confused."

"Call me Feli. Ve~. It is simple really! Me and fratello were among the first to find Matteo! He was such a cute bambino~ Me and Lovi snuck onto Giovanni Caboto's ship when he went to go explore the New World. He said that the reason he chose Matthew as his human name was because our boat was called  _The Matthew!_ And then there was that time in World War Two..."

Here Romano interrupted him. "Me n' Feli had been captured by a German (*cough*potato bastard*cough*) squad and were dragged inside one of the buildings. Just as we were about to be interrogated, there was an explosion and from a hole in the wall* came the psycho! The look on his face was truly terrifying but it was because of him that the town was eventually taken. He also has a Little Italy in any major city so you can get  _good_ food."

There was a small pause of silence before Romano spoke up again "I have to admit though, I'm now also curious as to why all you bastards (and you Miss Ukraine) remember him."

Egypt looked at him and said "Suez Canal Crisis. Him and his people came up with a solution to diffuse the situation, let me retain control of the Canal and get Britain, France and Israel out peacefully. I'll never forget him for that service."

Hong Kong simply said as he stared into the fire "He defended me as best he could at the Battle of Hong Kong with India and me, though we were heavily outnumbered, outgunned and ill-trained. We held out a lot longer then many thought we could as him and his men showed Kiku and his forces how stubborn Canadians could be." After this a small smile graced his normally expressionless features as he continued with "That and we suffered through England's cooking together along with the rest of the family."

Australia laughed and said "I am also part of that motley crew. Though I think adding a bit o' vegemite to his steak and kidney pie makes it fairly edible..." Disregarding the others looks of horror, he continued "that and I've fought with bugger in nearly every theater of war since we've known each other; you become attached to the bloke. I don't always see him or remember his name but I know who he is."

"Ja" said Germany "It is the same for me. I often forget his name" (Here Prussia yelled "often? Try always bruder!") "But it would be difficult for me to truly forget Kanada. Our politics now are very similar, and we get along quite well and my children were among the first to settle here in the 18th century, after the English and the French of course. Then there is World War I and II, he was frightening then. What Hong Kong and Italy said is quite true, he was a tenacious, unyielding and dangerous opponent. You could never forget him if you saw his face on the battlefield..."

Prussia simply said "I never have forgotten him since I've met him, cause I'm awesome!"

Ukraine said "Matvey was the first to recognize my independance from Ivan. He has taken in many of my people over the years as immigrants or refugees. Our governments also have a "Special Partnership" with pretty much everything between our two countries. Matvey has been my friend for many many years, how could I repay that by forgetting him?"

South Korea bounced up and said "He's been taking in many of my people recently and many more are going there to work. Our governments have been working fairly close together and we worked together during the Korean War, though I saw Alfred more then I did him. He's also begun taking lessons in Tae Kwon Do from me! da~ze!"

Lars just smiled and said "I believe my connection to him is rather well known among our kind and is still well remembered by our people. He liberated my country and people during the Second World War and he gave refuge to my royal family. He even had the hospital where Princess Margriet was born declared an international territory for the day so she'd be solely Dutch. We send him and Canada tulips every year for that."

It was quiet for a bit before the Netherlands leaned over and poked Mathias who'd been falling asleep. "What about you je oud viking? I thought you and Matt hated each other because of Hans Island."

The Dane deeply sighed before sleepily saying "We don't hate each other. I respect that he stands up to me over the issue (I mean he looks like such a pushover), it's our governments that really care about the entire issue, we really don't. Anyway I know him from the Arctic Council and me, Sverge, Norge and the others were the ones to first find him in our viking era. Made a nice settlement at L'Anse-aux-Meadows too but some hot head caused trouble between us and the aboriginals and we eventually had to clear off. But I never forgot him, kid has spunk- have you seen him body check Russia in a game of Ice Hockey?"

With further discussion, they determined that Canada was really quite memorable once you got to know him and was pretty unforgettable after that.

* * *

 So now the rescue crew should make considerably more sense- there are more ties then that such as Canada's involvement in the UN and it's sub-organizations like the FAO or our involvemnt in NATO or other political/economic ties but I went with the strongest ties I could.

I wanted to stick that last bit in earlier but could not find a way to work it in. What can you do?

*This was a technique first employed by the Canadians (as far as I can tell) as it was too dangerous to move in the streets of the town - there were too many hiding places to be shot at from. So because the house were all close together, soldiers would blow holes in the walls and move from house to house that way to retake the city. Look up the booby trap techniques employed here though, the Battle of Ortona was very underhanded.

* * *

_Translations_

  _Gaelic: Roll, rolla, rolla leis an ghaoth / Ní luíonn's long réidh sa chuan / Inniu an sean sí seolta / I bhfad ar shiúl ón talamh seo leis an deimhneacht / An tIarthar cheangal leis an talamh ar fiáin an Tír na nÓg / Beidh na gaotha an athraithe buille tú ar shiúl / Oíche agus lá, beidh dóchas do treoir / Tá Gorm na farraige ar uiscí agus is é an taoide ceart / Ruadh spéir na hoíche, ná a ghlacadh fright / rolla, rolla, rolladh amach / Searbh is féidir do imeacht a chur ach / Ní bheidh tú dearmad_

_English approx: Roll, roll,roll with the wind / There's a ship lies ready in the harbour / Today for the old she sails / Far away from this land of certainty / West bound to the land of wild, the Summer Land / The winds of change will sweep you away / Night and day, hope will be your guide / Blue are the ocean's waters and the tide is right / Red sky at night, do not take fright / roll, roll, roll away / Bitter your departure may be but / You will not be forgotten_

_*This is based on an old sailing/travelling song my grandfather used to sing but I forget bits of it so I improvised_

_redding the fire:_ (Scot. expression: stirring up trouble)

 _duw yn dda chyfrgolla ', nid yw hyn yn dda._  (Welsh- God damn it, this is bad)

 _Bitte Gott nein!_ (Ger- Please God no)

 _Oude Viking_ (Dutch- You Old Viking)


	9. Chapter 9

**In this section there is some aboriginal culture that is mentioned. If I have made a mistake please please please tell me, it is out of ignorance, though I did my best to research it.**

**I still own nothing mentioned in this story except for the weird musings from my head.**

* * *

In the months before going through, Ludwig had conferred somewhat with Oberon in order to figure out what exactly the time difference was between the two realms. As their experiments progressed (while avoiding Titania like the plague, Ludwig did not appreciate her so-called gestures of affection), it soon became very clear that it's state was what it was indicated to begin with.

That is to say, completely and utterly unpredictable to everyone's frustration.

What they had been able to determine was that the time was shortening so that maybe in a few years a day there would be a day here but beyond that there were no laws that could be applied. Some days the time would shorten by a minute while on other days it would by a week. Over the course of November, the time had shrunk from 5 years to a day to 3 years to each day but then for the first two weeks of December the time only changed by a week. The entire problem was slowly driving Ludwig up the wall, why could it not be logical? And the worst thing was that they needed to know so that they would not stay past the dead line of October 31st and risk being trapped forever along with Canada. Ultimately, they managed to figure that when they were to be crossing, a day in the Real World would be about a year or so in the Spirit.

Back to the present, a year had now passed for them and they had yet to find any sign of the Canadian anywhere. In that time, apart from the Blue Fairy-who-has-nearly-nothing-helpful-to-contribute -and-is-annoying-as-hell, they had run in to practically nobody apart from non-intellectual creatures who were pretty tasty when cooked. Yep, their eating standards had gone down the tube, there was tasty when cooked, not tasty when cooked, too well done to tell and poisonous. To increase their joys was the fact that they were presently in a swamp. This is the situation where we find them now.

"What do they eat..." gasped Feli as he swatted at the insects buzzing around his head "...when they can't get a nation?"

"Did anyone bring any insectenwerend middel?" Lars suggested hopefully.

"No or we would've used a week ago idiot!" Shouted Mathias, though the reason he was annoyed was more that he hadn't thought to suggest it himself.

A few more minutes of silence occurred, save for the whine of the bugs before Romano snapped

"This is fucking hopeless you stupid bastards! The sun has set and we are going in circles!"

"I guess we should stop for the night." admitted Germany "Who has the food?"

"That'd be me mate."

The group slowly made their way to the nearest hammock (dry-ish land covered in vegetation in a swamp) to set up camp for the night.

"Guys something brushed my leg!" shouted Yong-Soo, as he panicked and happened to climb the person closest to him. (Note: this is possible, I have seen my aunt to this when she stepped in a nest of awakening garter snakes in the spring. She literally climbed my uncle, one foot behind the knee, the next on the hip before setting the first leg again on the shoulder)

After Yong Soo shouted, both Egypt and Prussia lunged at the water hoping to catch whatever it was so they wouldn't have to eat deer for dinner again. After all, a little variation is healthy. After a bit of helpless floundering on their part, they did indeed manage to catch the fish and joined the others up on the island. Here was where the little blue fae came in handy.

"Hey Buuuuuuuuuug. Is this poisonous?"

"I'm not a bug! And no it's not"

A rare smile crossed Egypt's features while Prussia fist pumped and danced around the newly built fire chanting "Fishy, fishy, fishy, fish!"

* * *

Meanwhile Australia was rooting through his pack did get the preserved meat from the day before and not finding it began removing items.

"Ve~ Steve. What's that?" Asked North Italy, poking a small bound package.

"It's not much." Answered the continent absent-mindedly "Zealand gave it to me before leaving, its some white clay that my Aboriginals use in ceremonies. Said it might help."

Romano who'd been listening in curiously asked "Like with what Vegemite Bastard?"

Australia, still not fully paying attention answered "It's used for spiritual ceremonies. When in mourning, my Arrernte cover themselves head to toe in the clay whereas everyday body paint symbols show status and relationships to both the people and to Altyerreor. Which translated, means something along the lines of the Dreamworld. There's quite a bit of magic that can be done with it as well"

There was a moment of silence as the two brothers processed what Steven had just told them before Romano asked "Could it be used to track something?"

"I suppose" Steven said absently as he finally pulled the meat out out of the recesses of his pack.

"And you've had this clay with you the entire time?" Romano said unnaturally calm while Feli just looked really confused.

Ludwig walked over to ask what was taking so long with the food just as Australia answered "Yeah, New Zealand gave it to me before we left."

What happened next deafened anyone within a 3 meter radius "AND YOU DID NOT THINK TO USE IT BEFORE NOW SO WE HAVE AN IDEA WHERE TO LOOK FOR MAPLE BASTARD?" Taking a deep breath he descended into Italian that left his Northern counterpart to get paler by the second and Ludwig to slowly turn red. "È stupido idiota! Come ha fatto uno come te a sopravvivere così a lungo? Fessi! Bastard! Figlio di puttana! Rifiuti di Air! Vaffanculo a Lei, la sua moglie e la sua madre. Affanculo!" and with that he stomped off.

Australia on the other hand just looked confused and turned to the other two and asked "What was that all about? Never seen him spit the dummy like that."

Germany just facepalmed and wished once again for that Aspirin.

* * *

After their feast of fish and deer meat, they turned once again to the task at hand. Australia had nearly completely stripped and his body was now covered in intricate designs from the clay. Looking up he said "Now I'm not sure this'll work. The only way I can explain it is that the Altyerreor, the Dreamworld is the creation of the world and the things in it, and each thing's eternal existence. Everyone has a dreaming which has its place, where its come from, though I might be able to come in contact with Matt's eternal spirit there and determine his location from that, there is no guarantee."

Denmark just looked at him and answered "If you fail, you fail and we don't lose anything by it but if you succeed we at least have an idea where to look. Intet pres."

Looking slightly cheered up by this, Steven started to dance by the fire and chant in an old language. As time passed, his skin and hair slowly darkened and his voice deepened as he began drawing on his eldest people and their culture. The pace of both his movements and words slowly increased and his pupils completely unfocused and dilated despite it being pitch black out. His feet began moving in more intricate steps as his hands also began to move, tracing patterns in the air. This continued until, to those watching at least, he looked almost like he was having some sort of fit before giving a great shout and collapsing.

Lars quickly bent down and picked him up before wrapping him in a blanket. A few minutes later, Steven woke but judging by his skin colour (which had gone back to it's norm but paler) it didn't look like he would stay that way. Looking up at the worried faces around him, he stammered out "'M fine. T-to the East. M-m-mountain R-range. I-it was-s d-d-d-d-ark an-d-d c-cold, so v-v-very co-o-old." and then passed out again.

Once again it was quiet except for the bugs and the crackling of the fire until Gilbert said "Well, we're not going to get much more done tonight. Let's sleep on it and move in the morning. Hong, could you take the first watch?" and with that the nations grabbed their sleeping rolls and went to sleep.

Little did they know that their most recent stunt and the magic it entailed had attracted the attention of something much more dangerous.

They were no longer alone in the swamp.

* * *

The first and only clue of the imminent attack was that it suddenly went quiet, not the pleasant kind but the dangerous sort. The calm before the storm type of quiet, the someone-is-about-to-get-murdered in this movie kind of quiet. It was unnerving as suddenly the whine of the insects and the cries of nocturnal wildlife just cut off. As Hong Kong began to shout a warning, four figures were upon the hapless group. They were tall, lean, wore full black and gave off a predatory aura, no guesses who their prey was, their movements gave that away.

The only ones who had managed to react fast enough were Feli and Romano who were now hiding in some bushes, helplessly watching the four figures who had infiltrated their campgrounds. Australia was still out cold from earlier and in silencing Hong Kong, the nation had been flung hard enough into a nearby tree for the thing to fall down and was also out cold. One of the cloaked figures was sitting on a struggling Denmark and clutching Ukraine to his chest while the other two were effectively subduing Prussia, Germany and Netherlands. The last one had begun throwing around Egypt and Korea like rag-dolls as they tried to fight back in their just-woken-up state.

All Romano could hear suddenly was quiet. Nothing. The cries of his friends, the sound of Yong Soo hitting the water or the sound of Prussia being flung so hard into a boulder that it split in twain, were all muted. The scene before him still really mattered but he found himself watching as if from some great distance. He knew that he was going into Shock but he couldn't seem to snap out of it and a glance at his brother told him that he was the same. The situation just was getting worse as those they knew to be strong and powerful fell and the number of unconscious, incapacitated,  **bleeding** nations rose and for some reason  _he still could not bring himself to move_.

Both of Prussia's leg were definitely broken, open fractures by the amount of blood, and so was his spine if the boulder was anything to judge by. Netherland's face had been smashed into the ground so hard that he was definitely concussed and could no longer stand while Denmark had stopped thrashing, and had his sightless, glassy eyes starring at the sky (the lack of movement caused by use of pressure point he hoped) and Egypt and Korea had been flung into the ground with considerable force and hadn't moved since.

That wasn't the worst thing though.

Nope.

He'd figured out who their assailants were. Or more specifically  _what,_  as the one how was holding Germany by the  **neck**   **off the ground** leaned his head forward and bit. Their glowing red eyes and fangs were also plenty enough of a hint. The second the vampire bit down, the potato bastard stopped struggling, stopped moving. The other creatures began to follow suit going towards Prussia and Egypt while the one holding Miss Ukraine just looked amused and moved his hand... alright, THAT was definitely sexual harassment and the bastard is lucky that Russia isn't here.

His brother whimpered beside him.

Shit.

He could hear the slurping sounds they made. It was so disgusting.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Why wasn't he doing anything? Why was he still hiding with his brother? Why hadn't they come over to their hiding place, they could obviously hear their hearts racing. Just what were they implying?

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

A small shrill whistling sound broke him from his stupor and he felt something snap. This could not be happening. The only one allowed to harass the stupid Kraut was him and these creatures was making his brother cry.

Leaning over, he said in a chilled voice "Come brother. I think it is time we showed these abominations under God what it means to survive revolutions, riots, plague and war. This is nothing compared to those times and we made it through then just as we will now." Realizing he wasn't really reaching his brother, he changed tactics "Remember, after that day, after his death, you promised you would never lose someone you cared for again nor would you let any one else suffer that loss. Fratello, we are the only ones left that can do anything and if we don't.  _we are going to lose them_." Gesturing towards the scene in front of them, he knew he had his support when Feliciano's eyes opened fully and steeled and quickly explained his plan. They had a chance, a good one even. Standing from his hiding place, he strode forward, it was time to teach those bastard vampires how to die.

* * *

Romano came back and Feliciano came with him. They should have run. Run. Run. Run. RUN. "Get away from here", was all he desperately wanted to shout but he couldn't find the will to move. The one who was  _feeding_ off of him just let him drop and proceeded to taunt the Italians. Why weren't they running?

Get to safety.

Leave them.

Go.

RUN.

But they didn't. A small smile crossed Romano's face as he took his brother's dagger and sliced his palm with it, soaking it with his blood. What on Earth was he doing? All four pale faces turned to the shaking duo to the side. Gott, don't tempt them. Your blood is probably what they wish for the most, considering you are always shouting that you are a virgin Feli and how many sweets the two of you eat. Probably be like dessert or something. He finally managed to whisper to the blood soaked ground "Get away, get away". But it was too late, the undead creatures had already charged to the hapless duo.

He tried to stand, to go protect his friend but found he couldn't, all he could was watch in horror. Trying to keep his eyes open and focused was becoming so difficult. But when he looked at the faces of the two doomed, he saw nothing but determination reflected back. Strange, where was the normal fear? Fuck no! He was not going to pass out, not now, not when he might be needed even as injured as he was. The pair were usually hapless and rather defenceless, he needed to remain awake, just for a few more minutes. Just a few. C'mon body, cooperate.

Wait, the Italians eyes were open and the murder written in them was clear. Then he saw Feliciano, sweet Feli mouth something.

"Rule #1- never ever fuck with Italia's famiglia or you'll be fucked."

Wait, did he just swear? Ludwig needed to make sure they were okay. Focus... He couldn't, it, it was all too blurry and he couldn't concentrate.  _Scheisse._

The world quickly turned to black.

* * *

As Romano first began to talk, he was torn. Feli had lived as a coward for so long that to stand and confront the enemy was near impossible. If he ran, he could live another day.

What about everyone else? These were his  _friends_. What about what was right?

**What about Ludwig?**

Hadn't he promised?

_If you're in trouble, I'll come help you out. And if I'm in trouble, you'll come help me. Pinky promise, all right?_

Yet, he had never truly pulled through on that promise, betraying the man time and again because of his fear. His accursed fear.

But he was just one person. He wasn't superhumanly strong or brave like Alfred or Ludwig, he was a lover. What could he do?

But what would he do without them?

Then Romano said it. Reminded him, how on that day he had sworn that he would not lose anyone else like that if he could help it and yet his first friend was bleeding out before his eyes as was Gilbert and all the others that he had made friends with over the past year.

This could not be happening

"Straighten up Feliciano!" His mind suddenly barked at him "There is more at stake then losing a simple war here. If we lose here, they die for real. No second chances. No reparation payments, treaties or pacts will change that. They will be gone, this is more then a simple battle but is a fight for our lives. Will you  **run** or  **make a stand** Italia?

Fight or Flight. Che cosa farete?

What had Ireland said to him?  _It is fear that keeps him from fighting but it will take fear for him to do so again._

A simple choice really.

Feliciano was a coward.

So he would no longer be Feli, just Northern Italy. A country forged by hardship, occupation and survival.

He refused to suffer that same loss again through his fratello and friends.

He was not ready to die but if that was what it took to protect those he cared about, then so be it.

_If it kills me to fight then I will be ready to die._

He simply let go and embraced the darkness that had allowed him to survive through his nastiest time periods.

All those thoughts had passed through his head in less then seconds and the fight following passed a lot faster then he thought it would. After all, vampires had several crucial weaknesses, the most powerful of which being holy water. Which is why some blood from Romano's palm – the city of Rome which houses the Vatican, was like acid to them. To hear their screams after what they had done to his friends, to Ludwig, was like music to his ears and he took great joy in sheathing his now-Holy dagger into the fiends chest just as he knew that Romano was enjoying the damage he was inflicting with his bloodied hands and knife.

Gone were the cowardly and fairly passive duo and in their place were two rather terrifying individuals. Too bad only Katyusha was conscious enough to notice the change.

And so darkness they became.

* * *

Morgan Le Fay calmly strode over the ruins of the fairy court to where the Queen was being held, her (now) loyal servant trailing silently behind her. The siege of the fae court had lasted far too long and she was impatient to see the fruit of her labour.

She had saved taking control of Titania for last, for it was simply priceless the expressions people showed when rendered powerless, especially royalty. She had enjoyed doing it to King Arthur way back when, to assorted creatures she'd captured during her banishment here and she was loving it now.

Approaching the immobilized Queen (who was held down by her own court guard ~ how delightfully ironic) the Mage snarled out "Not so high and mighty are you now, princess?" Receiving nothing but a baleful glance in return she continued, "Soon I'll have you kissing my boots, just like dear  _Obi_  here. She leaned over and began touching Oberon's face. "It's delightful what a little a...  _persuasion_ and a bit of magic can do. Non?" As she began to move her hand farther south. She looked out of the corner of her eye at Titania's face. Ah, there was the expression she'd been hoping for. A little anger, confusion and overwhelming helplessness. So much fun to mess with.

Looking quickly skyward, she acknowledged the moon's position and deduced that the sun would be rising soon – which simply wouldn't do for the majority of her army. Best get this done with quickly. "Ah well pet, come now. Why so melancholy? Soon you will become one with the greatest force ever seen! Worlds will tremble upon our approach and everyone shall bow before me." As she said this, she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small spider talisman. "Once we are done with this world we shall take over the next." Lightly cutting her thumb, she added a drop of her blood to it and it came to life twisting and squirming in her hand.

Marvellous.

Turning around she left as screams began to echo around her with an dark look on her face.

Watch your back Arthur, I am coming back to claim what is rightfully mine.

* * *

Translations

 _insectenwerend middel_ (Dutch- Bug repellant)

 _Arrernte_ (Aus aboriginal group and also means people in that language)

 _È stupido idiota! Come ha fatto uno come te a sopravvivere così a lungo? Fessi! Bastard! Figlio di puttana! Rifiuti di Air! Vaffanculo a Lei, la sua moglie e la sua madre. A_ _ff_ _anculo_ _!_ (Italian- You stupid moron! How has someone like you survived this long? Fool! Bastard! Son of a Bitch! Waste of Air! Go fuck yourself, your wife and your mother! Fuck it all!

 _Spit the Dummy: (_ Aus slang-Get very upset/angry at something)

 _Intet pres_ (Danish- No pressure)

 _famiglia_ (Italian- family)

 _Fick nein_ (Ger- Fuck no)

 _Che cosa farete?_ (Ita- What will you do?)


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own Hetalia or anything else I reference randomly in this story.**

* * *

**_Dark._ **

_It was surrounding him._

_Suffocating him._

_How long he'd been floating here? He had no idea. There was no potential source of heat, yet he was not cold. How strange. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink yet either but he was not hungry or thirsty._

_Just then a whisper cut through the dark_

" _Shinsei Roma?"_

_What?_

" _Shinsei Romaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?"_

_A little louder this time._

" _There you are Roma! Found you~! Wake up~"_

_Light filled the darkness as he opened his eyes. And came face to face with someone who he never would have guessed to match that high, childish voice._

_There in a small green dress with white smock and kerchief was Italy. Why on Earth the boy was crossdressing and small eluded him and he found his brain more stuck on the fact on how close the other was._

" _I-I-Italia!" he said as he gently pushed the other boy away_

_Wait, why was his voice high? And his hands so small? These certainly weren't his clothes. What was going on?_

" _Ve~ Master Austria says to come inside before you catch a cold sleeping out here."_

_Then without him willing it, he began to follow the other boy into Austria's house as he protested "But I like watching the stars when they first come out. They are so beautiful and perfect."_

_Within the next few minutes he met Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Czech, Belgium, Luxembourg and Hungary* all of whom treated him very formally and agreed with everything he said. It was really strange to say the least. Especially considering the clothing that they were all wearing. They looked that they belonged in a museum or at the very least in the nation's storage room. Though what bothered him the most was that he was, at the most, a simple spectator. He was unable too say anything or move on his own: it was really just like watching a movie._

_He watched as he attempted to catch a mouse but just ended up flipping up Italy's skirt instead. Watched Italy interrupt his swimming time, watched Austria play the piano, practised swordplay in the courtyard and watched himself watch Italy from afar. He watched as they failed to make pasta (by cooking it too long, Italy had corrected him in the 50's) and as they failed in getting Italy to leave with them as they marched off to war though he did receive a deck brush to remember her by. It was strange, like watching a life on fast forward._

_It was only when he found a mirror as he began to change into his armour that he began to realize what was going on. The face staring back at him was so familiar. His eyes were the exact size and shape of those in his family and were the same colour as his own. Same jawline and hair colour, though he let his hair frame his face rather then slicking it back. Perhaps this was his uncle or something, like Germania was his grandfather or Prussia his brother?_

_There has to be an explanation. This could be how he figured out what was going on. He thought on what could possibly be the answer as he felt the pain of a blade pierce his heart and looked up into the face of a strangely serious France._

" _I cannot die here," he mumbled as he breathed his last breath, "I promised her!"_

_Upon waking the puzzle pieces finally came together. The reason he looked like him, the reason for the strange clothing and actions. Everything. "Hallo Kind! Über Zeit, die Sie wachte auf. Ich bin dein älter Bruder, Preußen!" This was his own first memory, waking up and seeing his brother for the first time. But it was also the Shinsei Roma's last. Did that mean...?_

_These were memories._

_His. All his._

_He could think (remember!) all the way back to the Dark Ages._

_That meant...Italy. His promise!_

* * *

Romano was concerned, ever since they had been rescued over three weeks ago and both his brother along with Germany, had yet to regain consciousness. Though to be fair, Prussia and Netherlands weren't faring too well and were asleep more often then not.

~Flashback~

_They had successfully destroyed two vampires and were now facing the one who had held Ukraine (who had been knocked out) and the other who had hurt Korea and Egypt. These two were considerably more wary of them, especially considering the mirror Russia-esk grins on their faces. After several minutes of fighting the twins managed to kill the one but in doing so, they created an opening that the other vampire quickly exploited lunged at Romano's throat. Feli seeing this, shoved Romano out of the way and took the blow for him, leaving him unconscious and bleeding heavily on the ground. The vampire was distracted by the smell of it in the air and lowered his defences, allowing Romano to dispose of him easily._

_Tears poured down his face as he looked at the scene around him, at the bent and broken bodies of his friends. He began first aid on them, wrapping their injuries and such. **Rest, Elevate, Direct Pressure. Repeat per wound**. But slowly he just felt despair: Germany no longer had a heartbeat at all, Prussia's was so faint it might as well be non-existent, Netherland's head looked like someone took a baseball bat to it and the rest were not much better and could not be woken up. This entire situation was beyond him and after he ran out of bandages, he broke down and just began to scream._

_It was then that **they** arrived._

_In calm lilting voices they apologized for nearly being too late to assist and, faster then should have been possible, began tending to the others injuries. As they did this, they explained that they had felt the magical surge and knew that some of the more unsavoury creatures would be coming after them and so had run over to help. Romano watched as they staunched the bleeding while they healed the nastier injuries such as Prussia's broken bones and Lars' crushed skull on the spot before gently picking them up and placing them on stretchers for transport. Romano could not believe it, they had been rescued by **elves**._

~Flashback End~

Yet despite all their skill, here they were weeks later and Ludwig and Feli had yet to open their eyes. The potato bastard he could understand, he'd nearly died from blood loss and from the venom that was injected in his system but Feli? The Italian had a mild concussion and a few deep gashes on his side, nothing that warranted this reaction. Even Prussia was up and being annoying sooner then Veneciano. What if he was dead? This was all his fault...

Romano groaned and smacked his head against the wall.

"Ve~ Fratello...pretty sure you can hurt yourself doing that."

Aaaaaaaand he spoke too soon. What was it that Japan always said  _Idiots can't catch a cold_ or something. Well it would appear Feli is also impervious to the effects of having been seriously injured and unconscious as he bounded around the room glomping anyone who got too close.

Even the stoic Egypt and Hong Kong fell victim to the Hug Monster that was his brother right now; Feli's delight in seeing everyone alive resulting in some bone crushing hugs.

"Gah! Get away from me! Chigiiiiiiii!" He felt all the air being forced out of his lungs as his brother hugged him babbling about how brave he had been, how scary this world was, how pretty these rooms were and how he hoped there was pasta here.

Then he spotted Ludwig lying comatose on the bed with an incredible worried and silent Prussia sitting as close to the bed as the casts on his leg would allow and became quiet.

Well, shit.

Even the manic, ADD, overly affectionate Feli was preferable to the depressed one. Even his curl was drooping! Love sick bastard. He wished Ludwig would finally get it through his head and realize that the only reason he had been rejected that Valentine's Day was because of the time, WWII was about to start and the moron thought to propose? He should just ask his brother out already, it was obvious that the two of them cared about each other.

Why were all the Germanics so bad with expressing and dealing with emotions? The two macho potato bastard brothers just suppress everything, another of them needs a god-damn piano to express what he's feeling and another just shoots at anything in range whenever he's happy or sad or embarrassed or angry or... just when he felt anything it would seem. The two female nations lumped in with them were no better- one was all bipolar with a cast iron frying pan and the other just agreed (and hid behind) her maniac of a brother! I mean, come on. Really, REALLY? Even  **HE**  was better at expressing how he felt, which was saying something.

Damn it. This entire situation sucked.

First off, all of them were injured. Secondly, it was going to be at least 6 months before the majority of them were in any condition to search for the stupid pancake bastard. Thirdly, he'd used up all of their bandages and left most of their supplies in the swamp. Fourthly, by asking around (he had yet to share this with anyone else yet), he had discovered that Matthew had passed through this way heading North. Which was good if the elf hadn't added the fucking time stipulation onto the end of that sentence- Matthew Williams had passed through, but it was  **400 years** ago and hadn't been seen since! Which led to his fifth point, though it was less about what was happening now but rather what would happening in the future to a certain English man who's fault it was that the present situation was happening in the first place!

He had so many ideas figured out, the possibilities were just about endless. (#76) He could ask to have to ask his Mafia get Arthur to try on a brand new pair of concrete shoes in the Black Sea. OR (#77) better yet in the the waters just outside of Australia with chum shoved down his shirt. He'd always wanted to see what a Great White attack looked like up close and personal. Death by being smothered by his own food was looking good too (#12) or being strangled by a shoelace (#43), Number 35 was shove him in the Amazon naked smothered in hamburger grease or something, anacondas are such friendly snakes. Hmmm. Or he could...

This lovely train of thought was interrupted by a small whisper coming from the other's bed

"Italia..."

Oh good, he wasn't completely comatose. But now he was already causing his brother to likely become even more lovesick over the in denial German. Greatttt. Wait. What was that?

The feverish man moved for the first time in several weeks and mumbled "Ever since the 900's...loved you..."

Well, that was good, he was now back to being a regular potato bastard not a vegetative bastard.

Looking into the stupefied faces of both Gilbert and Feli, he then realized just  _what_  had been said and so set aside his plans of vengeance and went to go find a cook as this was going to take a lot of pasta and gelato to come to terms with. Ohhhh. Albino boy just fainted, that was fun. Maybe he should track down a healer cause that looked like it hurt and maybe make some Kuchen for the bastard.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alfred was beyond frustrated, in the past two months he hadn't been able to find his brother's house (when had he moved?) and had instead managed to find the Northwest Territories house, British Colombia's house and Nova Scotia's house. All of which were empty so he couldn't even ask directions. To make his day complete the quarterly meeting was coming up as it had been delayed to accommodate all the festivities at the end of the year. So he needed to leave now to catch a flight to Turkey's house so he'd be there for the 12th. Shit, now how was he going to make sure Mattie is Okay?

* * *

*These countries were all part of the Holy Roman Empire whether in part or in entirety as were some parts of France, Slovania and Poland

_Translations_

_Hallo Kind! Über Zeit, die Sie wachte auf. Ich bin dein älter Bruder, Preußen!"_ (Ger- Hello Kid! About time you woke up. I am your older brother Prussia!)

 _Kuchen_ (Ger-cake)


	11. Chapter 11

**HETALIA IS NOT MINE NOR IS ANYTHING ELSE I VAGUELY REFERENCE IN THESE**

* * *

He was lucky, he guessed. He had been running late yet again for the world meeting when he ended up in a cab where the cabby had a lead foot. Suddenly he wasn't late anymore. Lucky him, he thought, after his stomach stopped rolling and his hands stopped trembling and supposed it was also fortuitous that it was not  _Italy_ driving said taxi. He had heard enough stories that he was able to be optimistic about the entire affair.

Once the meeting started, the usual introductions were delayed as everyone tried not to panic over where some of their fellows were, such as Germany. Who's NEVER late. EVER. The others were slightly less concerning as they frequently did skip meetings or arrive really late, but today would appear to be a day of opposites as America was on time and Germany was nowhere to be seen.

France, being France, immediately suggested that it was because of "L'amour avec son petit Italien" but that was pretty much shot down. As all present knew that, while that would be normally plausible for any two as close as they were, the German was just too much of a stick-in-the-mud to notice his own feelings or those of his friend. The bickering went on for several minutes until Ireland got there. Sitting down to England, he said "What's all the ruckus about?"

"Everyone's arguing over where Germany and the others are and why they might not have had the decency to send a message explaining their prolonged absence."

"Who we miss'n?"

"Speak proper English would you? It's who are we missing, not that garbled bit. We are missing twelve personifications. Southern and Northern Italy, Germany, Prussia, South Korea, Netherlands, Ukraine, Denmark, Hong Kong, Egypt, Australia and New Zealand."

"Oh! I can explain that, bushy brows. Oi! You lot! Sit down and shut your traps!"

Immediately an expectant silence descended on the room as all eyes turned to Pat.

" First off, you miscounted, we are missing thirteen of ours. Secondly, as I'm sure some of the less influential and smaller nations tried to tell you before you in your infinite wisdom, ignored them (stupid imperialistic, opportunistic bastards), they've been sent on vacation."

"WHAT!"

"You heard me.  **Vacation**."

"But... why?" asked Japan, while England sat there spluttering.

Pat took a deep breath, mentally going over the agreed upon answer before carefully responding, "Canada - you know, the second largest of us and the one above Alfred - had a minor melt down so his close friends (that would be Korea, Netherlands, Ukraine, Hong Kong and Egypt to you ignorant Pommy) have decided to take him on a bit of a "walkabout" to quote the Aussie and no cell phones, pagers or communication with the working world allowed. At the same time, Germany's boss has decided that the two have been working too hard and after a discussion with Canada's boss, they ended up roped in. Feli then got wind of it and decided to come which caused Romano to go too. The group of them got approved extended vacation and are going to spend the next few months just travelling about. They're going to be visiting Zealand next so she's probably at home cleaning. Then Australia decided to take a vacation after they asked him if he would mind being one of the destinations and, as for Denmark, well, last night they were in a tavern and ran into the boyo so he kinda invited himself. Right now they're visiting my sister and from what I last heard, they're planning on visiting a lot of the southern Commonwealth and asked us to take notes for them, which is why if you weren't so full of yourself boyo you might have already heard."

On the other side of the room, America was having a quick discussion with his boss, attempting to get a few months vacation as well so as to join his bro but was quickly shut down, to his dismay. Who cares so much about the economy? The Hero needed a break from it all. Ah well, at least now he knew where Mattie was, which made him feel a bit better and helped him dismiss the dreams.

"There is no way that they are skipping for such a reason!" Spluttered an angry Brit and promptly took out his cell and dialled his estranged sister's number.

"Mon cher, put it on the speaker-phone so that we can all hear, oui?"

"Can it frog!" Though he still did as the other asked.

A few moments of silence were heard before a fairly familiar voice was heard in the background

"WHIST ME LADS! THA PHONE'S RINGING!"

A pause then "'ello Sprog. Wha's up?" shouting could still be heard along with various thumps and crashes.

"You Tosser! Are you in a  _bar_  right now?"

"Maybe darlin', may~bay not. Wha's got you'r knickers all in a twist?"

"THERE IS A BLOODY WORLD MEETING GOING ON YOU TWAT!"

"Cam'a Art, soun's like ye up t'e ninety an' could use some VITAMIN G!" and rousing cheers and clinks could be heard, along with cries of "Sláinte" before she said "Com'on dowwwwn n' get fluthered wit us!"

"I can't just join you in the pub, I'm in TURKEY you bowsie!"

"Ahhhhh Póg mo thóin" There was a brief scrambling noise before Bruce's voice was heard over the phone.

"Ye know Art tha' I thou't ye'd have a wee bit more tact then tha when dealing wit the fairer sex."

"Shut your gob. It is seven IN THE MORNING! Why are you in a PUB for the sake of all that's holy? And which pub? I don't think you could even bribe a tender to be open so late."

"Yer point? It be five in the morning here, an' we're naea the pub anymore bucko. The drinking didn't end when the pub closed and we got into Pat's and Aneiren's secret stash back a' the house. We thought we'd show the lads and lass the beauts of Ireland today...or was it yesterday now... and then after all the tourin' was finished, we decided to head to the pub for a break. Turned out tae be Karaoke night and we ended up staying a bit later then we mean'. I forgot that Prussia had such a nice voice and Hong can really belt it out too once he's had enough. I was jus' thinking on how to get all their drunk arses upstairs into bed."

Voices in the background could be heard shouting indiscriminately something similar to "Chug! Chug! Chug!" and "Didn't know Kaoru could hold a pint like that" and the sounds of steins hitting wood.

Bruce continued "More then half of them are jus' passed out an' I think I'll be leavin' most of em were they lie, though make sure they be lyin' on their side, ye know tha' routine." a sudden crash noise interrupted him followed by some impressive swearing " Aw bollocks. 'Cuse me"

A dial tone was heard and the first one to break the silence was Taiwan who piped up with a "I would much rather be at their party." while China just looked horrified at the thought of his little brother at such a drunken party, though mostly everyone else looked amused.

Hungary then looked up with a bit of a gleam in her eye after wiping away her nosebleed and asked "I wonder whose vital regions were seized by the idiot, Korean and Dane, I know they can be quite grabby". Russia immediately began to kol after thinking of his sister, America blanched and began to panic about Matt and Spain looked absolutely murderous at the thought of what might have happened to Romano. Cue and enter the usual chaos as it descended upon the meeting and making everything feel all felt right in the world.

At least for everyone but those who had pulled off that little show.

* * *

"Do you think he bought it?" asked Wales, delicately putting away the bottles he'd been clinking together and lightly dropping.

"I think so" answered Northern Ireland "Though I'm somewhat offended how quickly he bought the entire getting drunk thing. Is that'll he thinks that I do in my spare time?"

"For his sake I hope not or I might have to re-introduce my good friends the pipes the next time he has a hang over." growled a grumpy, sleepy Bruce.

"True. Quick thinking by the way on the entire Pub thing, I didn't think of the time when we came up with this." said the Welshman from the other side of the room.

"Just lucky that Kathleen didn't give him an affirmative answer with her "drunken" ramble, else I'm not sure what I'd done when he pointed out the time. My heart nearly stopped as it was."

"Indeed" Turning now to their group of counties and/or provinces who they had pulled into the charade, Wales proceeded to shower them with praise while slowly moving them to the bedrooms (they were the same physically as ten-year-olds at the most). Slowly the other two began cleaning up the mess of books, bottles and God-knows-what-else, that they had made recreating a drunken party.

This was troublesome though, after all no one was supposed to have been that concerned from the get-go, though luckily Pat had been able to text them while stalling the others so that they had at least a decent chance in pulling off the entire thing.

Scotland suddenly stood, swearing as he dropped the book he had just accidentally got a paper cut on the webbing between his thumb and pointer finger from before he stepped backwards into the remains of the vase that Ireland's Connacht had knocked over. It was a good thing, Kathleen decided, that the kids were still awake and already knew those words or else she might have had to kill him for that. Which would have left her to clean up both the mess and his blood alone.

Hopefully the others were having a better time of things then they were.

"I could actually really use a drink now" she commented as she and Wales helped Bruce pluck all the glass out of his foot while the two fervently nodded in agreement.

* * *

It was luck, he thought, that had led him here. Not only had he managed to find safe passage through the mountains, he had also earned the admiration and respect of the dwarves that dwelled there with his skill in weaponry and with his immunity to the cold. In exchange for shelter and food, he would go up to the peak of the mountain and get the rare minerals or other such thing that could be found there without freezing to death like the others (though he still needed all the winter gear of course, going up bare footed and in a light shirt was just stupid). Furthermore, he was expanding what he knew of the smithy craft and was told that he was about journeyman rank. This allowed him to handle most materials without supervision and the rest under the care of a master as he learned the tricks and properties of it.

He had adapted well to life here, many sought him out for stories or music both of which he was quite good at and was the only time he spoke. He created toys for children, helped with the preparation of food, dug in the mines and worked in the smithy workshops. He quite liked it, it was like one big family. After his story involving a certain Katerz, a sympathetic metalsmith apprentice had cast him a small bronze cat necklace and told him to feel better soon. The wished him good morning and evening and called him by his name. He was never left to eat a meal alone, even if he tried, he would be dragged to a table and made to join the drunken festivities there. In fact, he became quite well known for his ability to knock them back and it wasn't uncommon for him to have someone challenge him at dinner. It was nice to be noticed and cared about like that.

Making his way back down the mountain, basket full of the rare snow flowers he decided that he felt alive again from the warm feelings that those actions brought. He began to quietly sing, enjoying how the sound seemed to reverberate around him

Kepmite'tmnej ta'n teli-l'nuulti'kw  
Nikma'jtut mawita'nej  
Kepmite'tmnej ta'n wetapeksulti'kw  
Nikma'jtut apoqnmatultinej  
Apoqnmatultinej ta'n Kisu'lkw  
Tel-ika'luksi'kw ula wskitqamu'k

Before he could reach the end of the song, he was silenced by shock and horror. Around the formally hidden entrance to the dwarven city from the mountain top, there was a large amount of disturbance of the previously smooth snow and blood splattered everywhere. Unsheathing the small dagger he carried with him and made sure his hatchet was at easy reach, he moved into the mountain.

And was not at all prepared for what he saw within.

Judging by the tracks and the corpses, there had been about six Mngwa*, several spectres/wraiths (though they left no tracks so he no idea number wise) and about fourteen cave trolls. Lovely. The most troubling thing was that, despite the creatures taste for flesh, the corpses were left relatively untouched and there were not as many as there should be. In fact, the bodies were mainly the elder warriors, all of those in their 350's or younger (which would be equivalent to humans age of 40) were gone as were all the smiths. Picking up a child's doll of the ground and brushing the dirt of it's face, he felt a familiar rage build up inside him, one that he had not felt in decades.

He was going to track down those  _Kumut_  down and kill them in the most vicious way possible and he would not rest until it was done. With a look on his face that would've given any of his past opponents (namely America and Germany) nightmares, he went and collected his things and weapons, buried the dead and began to follow the tracks.

The hunt was on and there would be plenty of blood by the end.

The monster in him shivered in anticipation.

* * *

It had been eight months or so since their rescue and they had all been finally given a clear bill of health. Germany was still struggling to come to terms with who he had once been, though to be quite honest, all of the European nations with them were in the same boat. Prussia and Northern Italy especially were trying to figure out how they had not  _noticed_ and were not entirely sure how to act around him but beyond that, everyone was up and acting as they normally would. At least on the bright side, after the vampire attack they'd managed to ditch the annoying 'Tinkerbell'. Anyway, as everyone was up and had recovered all forms of movement, they were going to be leaving to go find their wayward friend and were being treated to a debriefing of sorts.

" _You honestly have you idea what is going on?"_ asked a brunette elf addressed the group in front of him. Early on in their stay, they'd been given translators that fit in their ears, automatically translating into whatever language they had it set on, kinda like the Babel fish from that weird book. Something Lars was eternally grateful for, he already knew four languages and due to his citizens (and his own) consumption of a certain drug, it could be rather difficult to learn another language. Though he wasn't as bad as a certain Brit who is all "Two languages in one head! No one can live at that speed! You are asking the impossible! Just learn English, you wankers!" Huh. Babel fish. That reminded him when he got the chance he should totally try to build to build an infinite Improbability Drive. Turn missiles into whales and plants and such. Be incredibly useful that. Right, he should be focusing.

" _...So nearly a year ago now, the high court of the Fae fell to an incredibly powerful witch and her army. It was them who regulated and kept in check the nastier inhabitants here but since their destruction, as you discovered, have been running amok. But that is not the worst thing. The biggest problem is that many of those who have fallen to her forces such as the Fae court, the Northern Mer Kingdom and the Troll Kingdom, have since appeared on her side; completely subservient and include some of the world's deadliest fighters and mages. We have heard disturbing reports of Snatchers going out and kidnapping anything and anyone they can to bring to_ _ **her**_ _. You will have to be extra vigilant going through the lands and you must have a more thorough grasp of magic or we will not allow you to leave simply because if you do_ _you will die or worse_ _. This woman is beyond powerful to have brought the Elementals, Trolls, Spirits, Fae, Mer-Folk and Ogres under her grasp, she is dangerous. One time she escaped to your dimension and caused great havoc before being retrieved by Titania, I believe she is still remembered there as Morgan Le Fay."_

A sharp intake of breath was all that could be heard. Yes, they knew that name. Not only for the deeds she is remembered for in the stories but from Arthur himself. During that time period, he had once been captured by her and he still bore the scars to this day despite his land and people having no recollection of the event, which was absolutely unheard of. Her strength and her cruelty is clearly remembered by nation-folk and is in their "Rogue's Gallery" along with Hitler, Augusto Pinochet, Jiang Qing, Ghengis Khan, Attila the Hun, Ilse Koch, Elizabeth Bathory , Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Rafael Trujillo, Vlad the Impaler, Nero and more.** The fact that she was still  _alive_  and dangerous was concerning and complicating their already complicated mission.

"Alright then, what kind of magic will we be learning?" asked Ukraine

" _We will be going over many different forms of magic from, defensive to offensive. We understand your haste so we are condensing as much as we can. But you are not going to like this very much..."_

"What?" snapped Romano irritably.

" _Well, even then, it will likely take several years to master properly. Depending on how quickly you learn it could be a year or ten. Please understand though that most of this would normally take over a hundred years to properly learn and there are only so many corners we can cut..."_ The poor man looked rather worried, his eyes scrunched shut and leaning back while curling up on himself; waiting for the outburst that was sure to come

Denmark felt almost murderous, here they were delayed again! Taking a look around, he concluded that the felling was mutual but realizing this wasn't something they could afford to lose out on. So before anyone said (yelled) anything he interjected with a sigh "Fine. When do we start?"

The elf looked at him with relief and with gratitude  _"Right now. The first step is to find out what your totem is which will help you in all future magic. Follow me, Master Shin'ari will be your guide in this and she is in the East building up the mountain._

* * *

A few minutes they were in a building that reminded them heavily of China and the temples he had in his mountains. A waterfall could be seen in the background along with several full grown trees and several miniature ones, though this could be said for nearly every building they had been in the community, this one was different. It was smaller, with only one large room and gave off a sense of age and of mystery, with a lower ceiling and incense floating about everywhere. In the middle of it all sat a rather aged elf reclining in the pillows.

Without opening her eyes, she rasped out  _"Welcome to my realm travellers. Grab a pillow and relax, the first lesson starts now for you all. Niari, you may leave."_ The brunette elf bowed and left the building.

Pulling a pipe from under yet another pillow after the others had settled in front of her, she began to speak  _"This ceremony is both the easiest and the hardest. I sense that in your cases it will be much harder then it is for most. For in order for you to call you totem into being, you must know who you are, where you've come from. So before we start I would likely you to meditate on those two questions."_ Raising her hand, she added  _"and before you ask, there is no protocol for this kind of meditation, sit or lie down however you like and wherever you like._

With that everyone kind-of dispersed. Five of them went outside to the courtyard: Katyusha went and sat outside near the waterfall whereas Lars climbed a tree then sat at on the roof, looking down on the world. Kaoru sat by the small fire pit, relishing the warmth the flames brought, Ludwig sat down, leaning against one of the trees and Gupta sat on the deck, burying his toes in the dirt. The others just spaced out in the room and flopped down. The two Italies lay together, shirts off in full out siesta mode. Prussia curled up in a corner, hugging the pillow, knees up and stared at the ceiling, Mathias stayed where he was and Steven lay on his stomach staring out the door watching the ants scurry to and fro. Im Yong Soo just went and sat beside the incense, the smell clearly reminding him of home by the look on his face. They stayed that way for a fair amount of time, a rare sight as no one fidgeted or broke the silence. It might have been in the incense or it might have been the entire situation. Either way, everyone was startled when Shin'ari's voice once again broke the silence.  _"Alright everyone come back in. Let us try this. Do not worry if you do not succeed the first time, you would not be the only ones to do so. To find the other half of your soul is a tricky business."_ Taking a deep breath, she continued  _"I will go first so as to show you. Unlike me however, you do not need to say any of this outloud. I understand that bearing your soul like this could cause problems for both you and the people you represent in the future. To begin then..."_

Taking the pipe, she filled it with some sort of herb and lit it, as it began to produce purple smoke, she began to speak  _"I am the oldest of my people and the mother of many. I have lived over 300 years and I could be considered wise by some. I am both mother and daughter, wife and sister. I have been a great fighter..."_

As she continued to talk the nations got a feel for the lay of entire spell and once she finished talking and drawing on the pipe, she took one last smoke and blew out causing a smoke deer to appear in existence. It went over and nuzzled her nose before jumping through her and disappeared. She then passed the pipe to the person on her left, who happened to be Yong Soo.

Yong Soo sat there quietly and every now and then drew on the pipe before he too finished and blew out a large amount of smoke. It slowly turned red and before long a Red Fox*** was sitting in front of him. It looked at Yong Soo appraisingly before giving what could almost be construed as a smirk and jumped through him, disappearing.

This same process repeated for Ludwig who got a Dog, Feliciano a Dolphin, Romano a European Rabbit, Steven a Tasmanian Devil, Katyusha a Brown Bear, Lars an Otter, Kaoru a Chinese Pangolin, Gupta a Jackal and Mathias a Killer Whale.

Gilbert was last and was pretty excited, all the others had gotten some pretty awesome totems that suited them perfectly and on their first try too. He was determined to do the same thing. When the pipe got to him, he began to think of all that made him,  _him._ He thought of the 7 years war, the War of Austrian Succession, his time as a Teutonic Knight, the World Wars and all the others battles he'd been in. He thought of the feeling of his land, of his qualities. Loyalty, endurance, strength, courage. He was Ludwig's older brother and his one-time protector. He was friends to Matthew, Francis, Antonio and others. He thought and thought, pouring out all emotion and memories into the pipe. Finally, feeling it ready, he took a final puff and was surprised when a bird little bigger then Gilbird appeared.

Feeling somewhat disappointed, he put down the pipe and nearly fell over as Shin'ari stood directly before him, looking at him calculatingly.  _"Do not feel disappointed, young one. Like great names, some things must be earned, you are still missing something important or something important has not yet happened. Do not fret, that little bird was underdeveloped, with time that should change. It is likely that he will not truly spread his wings and fly until such a time arises."_

Clapping her hands she stood,  _"Come you must be tired. Let's get you settled in."_  Leading them down a staircase which certainly was not there before, she brought them to another room with a stack of blanket and pillows everywhere. They grabbed the pyjama-type clothing that had been set out for them and began to change (after a few hundred years, you master the art of changing without flashing everyone)

As she left, they heard her mutter  _"A great Winter is coming, take care that you do not die in the frost. You will be needed before the end"_

* * *

_*Mngwa- East African mythical creature. Said to be the size of a donkey, is a fast, ferocious, man-eating feline with brindled fur._

** I wanted to include a fair variety of the more notorious people in nations history so you will likely not that some are responsible for hundreds of deaths whereas others millions and it might seem illogical to group them. However, I wanted a fair diversity – not just males or people from Europe or the dictators from the past hundred years

***I wanted to see if I could work this in later chapters but as I can't seem to be able to, I shall mention it here. As pointed out to me by Tsuki the Ryuujin no Miko, unlike in the West where foxes are viewed as playful, harmless tricksters, there's a much different menatality in the East. They're still considered tricksters but in Korea they are apparently malicious and evil. However, as was pointed out to me by this wonderful reviewer (I really can't thank you enough, I hate screwing up another country's culture), at one point Japan was in control of Korea and the Japanese idea of foxes is that they can be both nasty or good depending on their mood, so the fact that Korea's is a fox I'm attributing to Western and Japanese influence so that his totem has much more of a positive context to it. I hope that makes sense

* * *

_Vocabulary_

_Whist-_ (Irish slang- verb. Keep quiet)

 _Sprog-_ (Ir slang- kid)

 _Tosser-_ (Br slang- synonymous with wanker)

 _What's got your knickers in a twist_ (Ir-why so uptight?)

 _Up to Ninety -_ (Ir- near the boiling point, really angry)

 _Vitamin G-_ (Ir- Guinness)

 _Sláinte –_ (Ir: Cheers!)

 _Fluthered –_  (Ir- Drunk)

 _Póg mo thóin-_  (Gaelic-kiss my arse)

 _Bouzzie/Bowsie-_ (Br slang: young good-for-nothing, Someone who hangs around on street corners)

 _Gob-_ (Br slang- mouth)

 _Kepmite'tmnej ta'n teli-l'nuulti'kw / Nikma'jtut mawita'nej / Kepmite'tmnej ta'n wetapeksulti'kw / Nikma'jtut apoqnmatultinej / Apoqnmatultinej ta'n Kisu'lkw / Tel-ika'luksi'kw ula wskitqamu'k_ (Mi'kmaw (or more commonly known as Micmac) Let us greatly respect our Native past / My people let us gather / Let us greatly respect our history and roots / My people, let us help one another / Let us help one another according to the Creator's / intention for putting us on this planet)

 _Kumut_ (Punjabi- Bastard. {If curious as to why he's swearing in Punjabi, it's because it's one of the top 5 languages spoken in Canada})


	12. Chapter 12

**AN- Sorry, t** **here is quite a bit of slang in the first bit. There are a few explanations at the bottom, otherwise, just assume it's nonsense, cause that will likely be the case.**

**I do not own Hetalia or anything else that I reference in this story. The only thing that I can claim ownership on, is this bizarre story.**

* * *

Since the meeting, Alfred had been feeling considerably better about his missing brother, but his fears were brought back that night after a dream of Matthew travelling through a bog at midnight with will o' the wisps (GHOSTSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!) hanging around everywhere. While walking through, his brother passed three small, old women dressed in green who were washing blood stained clothes and shrouds. Looking closer, he then saw their webbed feet and hands and immediately knew who they were, a French general had told him the story before a battle during his revolution-they were Les Lavandières and the owners of what they were washing would die the following morning. In that pile of clothing he thought he saw a familiar red sweatshirt...Since then, he had not dared to sleep for fear of what else he might see... Or not see for that matter.

However, there was only so long that this strategy would work and after the eighth day of being awake he passed out on his couch, thankfully to blessed blackness.

Though that did not last long.

Soon enough he heard behind him, a fairly familiar whisper quiet voice say in a language he did not know but yet understood  _"Who are you?"_

Turning immediately, he was hit by the almost irony of that question. There was his brother. The first time he had seen him in months and the familiar litany that would normally pass his own lips now was directed at him. And he was surprised by just how much those three words hurt. "I am your brother, Alfred, Matthew. Is this your idea of a joke?" On closer inspection though, he was surprised by what he looked like. His long, wavy hair was now a badly done brush cut (seriously, had he just hacked at with a knife?), he was horribly dirty and what on  _Earth_ was he wearing? His eyes, usually filled with warm emotions, looked flat and lifeless as if the other had succumbed to the world's evils. That look had no place on his brother's face. Wait, were those stone age weapons? Just what was going on here? And he still hadn't answered him.

"Matt? You okay buddy?"

_"I am sorry, who is "Matt" ?"_

"YOU! You are Matthew, though you also go by Matt, Mattie and Canada."

_"Canada?"_

"Matt, please stop. You are scaring me. This isn't funny."

_"What is not funny? I do not understand."_

At this point, he, Alfred F Jones, the United States of America, was definitely not nearly in hysterics. Though no one would be able to blame him if he was, he was a Hero and heroes don't lose heart and let despair get to them. However, that didn't make the problem any less worse. His brother had finally done what the rest of the world had: he had forgotten himself. Al didn't even know that was possible.

"C'mon Matt. You gotta 'member me! I'm your brother, we've been together for a thousand years or so! You can't tell me you don't remember me!" He urged, panicked as a cynical voice in the back of his head remarked that _that would be fair considering how many times I forgot about you_. "After all we've been through! It's me! Um... remember when we first found Kumajiro?"

And suddenly the dark space swirled until they found themselves standing in the scene America had been describing and together they watched as smaller versions of themselves wandered up the Hudson Bay region and found the bear cub. Al, realizing, for once, he had control over the dream proceeded to show the other all the happy memories he had of their time together (though he was surprised by the lack or decrease of more recent ones) and even some of the more bittersweet ones. Going camping and fishing, watching the Northern Lights, exploring each others lands  _(AN- not the innuendo you are thinking sorry_ ), celebrating their independence, playing games and watching movies together, helping the other when they needed it (New Orleans, the Ice Storm of 1998 and Halifax Explosion just to name a few) and just as many positive-ish moments that America could dredge up from the recesses of his mind. He even went as far back as when he first met the other, when Canada looked to be about five and he (having just come into being), looking about three, and how Canada had shown him around his new world and people.

Looking over, he saw the object of his attentions looking absolutely overwhelmed and frustrated, a look of concentration on his face as he rubbed his temples, as if to ward of a headache. With each scene, his posture became a bit more slumped and a bit more pain seemed to work it's way into his features. "Matt? You okay?"

"Naw, me ol' b'y. My 'ead feels right logy. I dies fer it te' stop, eh b'y?"

"What?"

"Get lost eh?"

"Matt?"

"Chu... Y s´en câlisse. Hey le constipé du cerveau, espèce de vieux mononcle de ciboire. Le ministère de la Santé va faire écrire sur les paquets de cigarettes que t'es rien qu' un BigMac sans sauce anti-vomi macéré longtemps dans de la pisse d'ours polaire! J'me roule a terre juste à la vision de te pisser à la raie au festival western de Saint-Tite ostie d'crisse de tabarnak!. Va te faire ramoner le muffler chez Canadian Tire!"

At this point Matt was curled up in a ball and shaking. It was becoming apparent to Al, despite having trouble reading the atmosphere at times, knew that something was wrong.

"Matt?" Al's voice almost rose an octave over that one syllable. He was almost wishing for those other dreams now

"C'me up from down south then, eh? Never heard tell of it before, I didn't... We're so hosed."

"um.."

"Spinnnin' an' Freakin' down to the Jaw. Goin' to Timmy Ho's for some Double Double!" Great he was almost singing now. "Puttin' on a bunnyhug and gettin some skookum screech from the Island..." and descending into mutters, that was fun.

By this point he was at a loss of what to do. It sounded like Matt was having a full out melt down as the words and parts that he knew (which wasn't a lot), made absolutely no sense and he was curled up so tightly in a ball and his lip was bleeding and he was...crying?

Let it be known, that no matter who is the elder sibling in the relationship and (usually) how well you get along, when tears get involved the other will always do one of three things (or all of them depending).

1\. Hunt down the bastard who made you cry.

2\. Go buy a huge amount of snacks and listen to you vent while you eat all of said snacks (especially the big guns- chocolate and ice cream)

3\. Give you a nice big hug and don't let go until you stop crying, no matter how hard you struggle or can't breathe.

Al wasn't sure about the first two, but he definitely knew that he gave the best hugs in their hemisphere and so bent over, prying his brother's death grip of his knees and put them around his neck while scooting in closer. Before the other even knew what had happened he was in one of Al's patented  _Death Hugs (C)_

He didn't seem to mind as he slowly calmed down and then said "Masi"

After a few moments of silence, America finally got up the nerve to ask "Now what was all that about?"

Resting his head on the other's chest, Matt replied "My head...hurts. Like someone is attacking it with a jackhammer. And I don't even know what that is. I don't understand what is going on! There are flashes of things and before I can fully grasp them they go. Like what is  _akuvijarjuak?_ " With that he pulled himself closer into Alfred, taking comfort from this complete stranger.

This was when Al realized what was going on. To his credit, he hadn't really been around for a large portion of those times but still (he mentally berated himself) he should have noticed the signs. Matt usually got like this in times of warfare. He would bury himself, the nicer, gentler part and detach himself from emotions. It was really creepy to watch but those times, it let him cope with the situation. Just what was going on though that Matt had needed to that to such an extreme because all those other times that he'd been pulled out of it, wasn't as bad as the reaction he was receiving now and those times he certainly knew everyone who he normally would. Shit. Oh well, he could still offer the same solstice he had then at the least.

"Matt..." he said softly and turned the other's head up to face his and pressed their foreheads together as he reached far back into his near forgotten mythological past and drew a small tendril of light up coxing it up through his body and into his brothers'. Yes, Al had magic but he refused to ever let Arthur know because he didn't want to be bothered about it. Anyway, the moment it connected, Matt relaxed as the pain was taken away (and partly transferred it to Al who winced at it's onslaught. No wonder he had been crying it fricken  _hurt_ ) and then suddenly went ram-rod straight as everything that he had been suppressing - which before had just been trickling through - suddenly flooded his mind, blinding him with its' onslaught.

A few (tense) minutes later, he turned to his brother, panting, and said, "Where the HELL have you been!"

Startled by the sudden anger, he broke the contact and responded with an intelligent "Huh?"

"WHERE the HELL have YOU BEEN?"

"What do you mean, where have I been? I've been trying to find out where YOU got too since DECEMBER!"

"I went missing over hundreds of years ago! Are you telling me you just noticed NOW that I was missing?" he shouted as he started trying to escape his brother's hold.

In response Al just tightened his hug and said confused "Years? What are you talking about? I saw you about four months ago, just before Hallowe'en."

Matt just turned (once he realized he couldn't escape) and looked at him straight in the eyes and said "It's been years and I've been alone for so many of them so don't you try to tell me differently." Doing what Al had done earlier, he opened his mind and the previously black space showed Matt falling through the portal, meeting Chesh, travelling around, meeting elves, mermaids, dwarves, the loss of his friend, succumbing to loneliness and finally the falling of the dwarvish city. All of this he showed to Al who sat there stupefied before calculating (yes he was smart, thank you very much) that what had been a few months to him had been over four hundred years to his brother for which at least fifty he'd spent retreated in himself and about two hundred or so isolated from anybody with the exception of the dwarves he had been staying with recently. That explained the extreme reaction among with a few other things.

He began to speak and winced when his voice cracked, "How...What...Why...Matt, you've been alone for that long? I swear, it's not that I didn't notice, it's just here it's only been a few months and I noticed you were not around in November it's just when I still couldn't find you in December that I really became worried..." Realizing he was rambling, he cut himself off before taking a deep, steadying breath and continuing. "Just how on Earth did this happen? Where are you bro?"

"I don't know, sorry Al."

Al. That was good. Sounded like he was no longer mad.

Thinking a little bit, he began to speak slowly, "Hey Matt, remember when we were little, we'd pull an Enterprise with the entire beaming thing, so we wouldn't have to walk all the way to where the other was or try and find them?"

"Yeah"

"Well, why don't we try it? I mean, the fact that we are talking now means we are still connected enough."

Reaching inside again he sent out a bit of that light again to his brother and  _tugged_.

.

..

...

It felt like running into a reinforced cement wall covered in steel and with a diamond core. Unbreakable. And left him with ears ringing and very tired, despite the fact he was already asleep.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck"

"A-Al? You alright?"

"That wasn't my brightest idea it seems" he groaned out.

"Well, didn't you lose nearly all your magic when you industrialized and began an assimilation policy? I mean, you don't have a lot of wilderness left or I might just be too far away. Thanks for trying though bro. Maybe you could ask some of the others, like Aunt Kathleen or Uncle Bruce to help you try again."

Wait a second, those Brits. Looking back on the past few months, he figured out a few things. One, The British Isles knew something considering they had come up with the entire vacation story. Two, Matt was not on vacation, meaning that those other nations that had been unable to attend the meeting also weren't. They hadn't disappeared at the same time because he remembered seeing all of them at their early holiday party on the 12th of December. However, since then they were just as hard to find as his brother. Three, Kumajiro was still here on his side, maybe he could use his as a focus to find Matt. Four, that the reason that those nations could not be found might be because they had managed to follow his brother. After all, most of them got along fairly well with him.

"Al?"

"Sorry Matt, I was just thinking."

"Uh-oh. No wonder I smelt something burning"

"Awww, shut up you bugger." he said, playfully hitting his shoulder.

"Bugger? I can tell you've been hanging around England to much, hoooooooser."

"Take off eh?" How he had missed this. It was weird, though that expression was right, you don't know what you've got till it's gone. After this, he was going to be bothering Matt every week he decided for something pancakes, hockey, poutine, hikes, something.

"You did not just do that, Yankee."

"I might have, Canuck. Anyway bro. You might not be alone there anymore. In the January meeting Germany, Prussia, North Italy, South Italy, Denmark, Ukraine, Hong Kong, Egypt, South Korea, Australia and the Netherlands all didn't show. The excuse made was that they were taking you on a vacation, which leads me to think that they've somehow figured out where you are and are looking for you."

It surprised Alfred how much those words brightened up the other.

"So don't you dare give up on me Mattie, as long as you are still alive they can find you or I can find you. As long as there is hope (as cheesy as that sounds), I will make sure that someone at least finds you and brings you back. Promise, alright?"

"Cause you're the hero right," he was met with a weak smile from Matt.

"Yeah cause I'm the hero." The Canadian finally hugged him back and they sat there for a moment in silence, just enjoying the other's company.

"Hey Matt?"

"Yeah"

"I was wondering..."

Then suddenly he was gone and Al was left grasping air. Shit. SHIT!

"MATTTTTTTTTTT!" was what he found himself shouting, just before his head, followed by the rest of him, hit the floor. He lay there dazed for a little bit as he regained his bearings. He was in his living room. He had been asleep for twelve hours and Tony was now poking him in the head. What a perfect way to wake up.

Letting out a long groan, he stumbled over to the phone called Kathleen's house and left a message saying simple "You've got a lot of explaining to do. Please don't leave, I will be there in a few hours. If you do leave, I will find you anyway. This is important." He then got New York (who was luckily around) to drive him to the airport and took the next flight to England. This would prove to be a very interesting conversation he was sure.

* * *

Elsewhere, Matt woke with a start. His targets were moving. He had caught up with them two days ago and slowly been killing off those who guarded the dwarves. He had successfully taken out (without being found or seen!) nearly all of the Mngwa and half of the cave trolls, however he still was facing the other half and a small force of spectres and wraiths. That was not so good. He only had one weapon that had been treated so that it could destroy those creatures so holding off about a hundred of the damn things, the one remaining Mngwa and the ogres while freeing the dwarves. It was only impossible if you looked at it that way. Anyway, he was feeling optimistic because of his dream, he was sure he could free his friends. Taking and laying out seven arrows beside him, he nocked the first one.

Show Time.

Firing one after the other as quickly as possible he was able to kill six of the ogres as he gave away his position. Firing the last one as the ogre neared him, he determined that the only thing he had left to worry about was the remaining Mngwa were the spectres killing him with their weapons or the wraiths draining his life energy. Luckily, he had bought a charm a few years back protecting against such a thing so hopefully protect him from that. Drawing his sword, he prepared to face the creatures rushing at him with his hatchet held loosely in the other and lost himself to the frenzy of battle.

Coming back to his senses later, he realized he had dispatched all his opponents though many (about thirty or so) had escaped. Hopefully that wouldn't come around to bite him in the butt. Ah well, turning now to the dwarves who were huddled against the cliff side, he set about freeing them from their bounds. He was somewhat disheartened by the fact that none of them could look him in the eyes, was probably because of how much blood he was covered in, though they all did say thank you.

Treating the injured before giving them all his food and supplies, he then said  _"Go North, there is an elven city there that I informed of your situation and they should be ready to receive you."_

A little voice in the back piped up  _"But what about you Mister?"_

Grinning humorlessly, he pointed at the enormous dust cloud that was rising to the East of them. Of course it would come around to bite him in the butt. Considering his luck, he should be glad about how slowly it had taken to do so. _"I am going to be holding off whatever nasties are coming after you. Don't you worry though, I'll catch up with you lot in no time. Promise."_

The older ones, quickly realizing the situation, gathered everyone up and had them run out of there. In the meantime, preparing for when the army come over the hill, as both of his flanks were covered by cliff side, Matt caused a minor rock slide so that there were now the rocks piling up at the entrance to the small valley, creating a smaller entrance. Good, that would allow him to fight off opponents for as long as possible as only a few would be able to go through at a time. Turning, he loosened all his weapons from their holsters and prepared to meet whatever fate had in store for him.

.

..

...

...

Fate was a royal bitch.

An hour's worth of fighting and he was exhausted and still they kept coming. Ogres, trolls, orcs, goblins, oni, wraiths, spectres, dwarves, giants, elves, fae, chupacabra and more. His spear was snapped and useless (though he used the one end to stake a vampire that got too close) his hatchet was losing it's edge and his sword was getting notched. He wasn't going to last much longer, especially as some of the rocks from earlier had been shifted, allowing more to come through. Worse though was that the sun was going down. A lot of these creatures were nocturnal and grew stronger as the shadows grew (especially the wriaths). Too bad he was unable to keep his promise to both Al and to the kid, he wouldn't be catching up. In fact, he would be very lucky if he got out of this alive. Letting loose a battle cry, he descended once more into the melée and within another ten minutes was laid low by a sword blow to the head.

Just before he hit the ground he heard a nameless voice call out,

" _Now hurry to catch those dwarves or the Mistress will have our heads! She will not be pleased with just one."_

* * *

Eleven days after the meeting, Turkey was wandering through the conference building, whistling happily as he looked for a folder that Spain claimed to have left behind. Finding it by the podium, he bent it over to get it just as something heavy fell on his neck, causing him to overbalance and hit the ground. Waking up a few minutes later, he forgot completely about the incident and grabbed the folder before trudging out of the room in horrifically foul mood.

* * *

It had taken them seventeen years but at last, they were given approval to leave. In that time, they had grown a mastery over the different kinds of magic, from working with the raw elements, to something that could be called alchemy to working with pure magic. They had discovered the special type of attributes that their totems possessed also within that period. Which had been fun, for they hadn't been there one day and then the next it was there messing with them.

For example, Germany's totem was not limited to just the original German Shepard that he summoned, but was actually able to call forth any kind of dog or canine depending on the spell and circumstances. From what Shin'ari had been able to deduce (because apparently this had never happened before), the reason was because after his days as the Holy Roman Empire, he'd personified the highly fragmented German states, all of which would have had it's own special totem. This theory appeared to be confirmed when the two Italian brothers, quite by accident in true Italian fashion, together summoned the Roman wolf rather then their individual totems for a defensive spell.

Other skills to allow them to call on the animals natural attributes such as strength, improved swimming, seeing better in the dark, acrobatic abilities, greater speed, scaled armour, teeth, claws and greater sensitivity to sound and smells. Other abilities seemed to take a turn for the strange with the ability for a glimpse of the future, berserk fighting skills, mental communication, healing, speaking with spirits, ability to change the wind, walk in dreams and more.

It was somewhat unnerving to wake up in the morning and see (for example) Prussia floating in his sleep as gentle breezes pushed him around or be covered in a wriggling dog blanket or have Feli ask you why you were dreaming of a certain Norwegian. It had certainly been an interesting seventeen years, though they had enough control over their totems and abilities to not call on them by accident.

Before leaving, Australia had once again gone to the Altyerreor with the help of Cobber (his nickname for his totem) and this time hadn't passed out for days on end because of it. Through the ceremony, he had managed to find Matthew's eternal spirit which had given them his location. Canada had moved on from the mountains and was presently on the other side of the extensive range. Worrisome to Steven and them all was how faint his spirit seemed

Anyway, they were finally allowed to set out (much to everyone's relief) and let out one of the back roads. As they approached the bridge, Shin'ari began to speak  _"This is the safest route from here as long as you remember your lessons. From here, follow the path over to the mountains. Good Luck."_

At that she turned around while the eleven of them continued on their way. Upon setting foot on the bridge, a pale female spirit appeared in front of Mathias, blocking the way.

About to shout, he heard a small intake of breath behind as Lars muttered "blanke vrouwen" and he remembered Francis telling him a story once of refusing such a spirit's request and being thrown into a veritable sea of brambles.  _Les Dames Blanches*_ he called them. Looking over the bridge, he saw that there was instead an enormous nest of thorns. Swallowing his anger he instead bowed slightly to the apparition and instead said "What can I do for you ma'am so that we may cross the bridge?"

The spirit smiled slightly at his (*cough*apparent*cough*) politeness and gestured with her arms, indicating that her price was a dance. Luckily for Denmark, he knew how to Waltz and was actually happy to oblige, gracefully stepping from one step to the next. As each of them crossed, each were required to dance once with the spirit, Romano dancing the tarentella, Feli the tango, Lars the fox trot, Ludwig the quick step, Katyusha the ziganta while Gilbert gleefully tried the jitterbug and Yong Soo the Salsa and so on and so forth.

And then they were off.

* * *

_* The White Women is a mainly French folk tale from the minimal research that I've done but can also be found in Dutch and Germanic stories though I am not sure how similar they are. This is why, though, that I had Lars recognize it. The prices change from a dance to some sort of favour, though if refused or is rude to, the traveller is often thrown of the bridge to drown or into a nice bramble thicket or tormented by animals that help her._

* * *

**The entire part between Al and Matt, it's not supposed to be sad, but rather a kind of brotherly moment. Despite (by canon) Al having trouble remembering who he is at times, I would imagine that he still tries to be a good brother so I wanted to try and bring that across. Also, those of you who guessed all for the thirteenth person, you are correct. Felicitations. Then the entire bit with the odd language from Matt which is just the different "accent" or slang from different parts. He had done his best to forget everything so when Al begins bringing everything up, he has a minor meltdown and kinda just goes through recalling his entire culture and history in a few minutes. Would not be fun, I imagine.**

**Alright so accent and language wise. First there's the Newfoundland accent, which is just really in a category on it's own sometimes. Then the Maritime accent whose Scottish and Irish influence can be fairly obvious and when talking ou=oo, r's are more pronounced and some vowels are dropped. Then Québecois jargon which can go from pure french to something like parké le char dans le driveway (heard that in Montréal), depends on the region but can be very different from France French. Also when speaking English Qu. accents are different from Fr. Accents, for example, the commenly written as _ze_ for French speakers, in Qu. it's pronounced  _de._ Southern Ontario apparently sounds the exact same as someone from the Northern States in America, though up North there's a bit more of a slur(?) that comes out. While the Prairies have a bit more of a drawl (with Alberta having the strongest one) with sometimes a bit of Ukrainian/Russian accent depending on the area. British Columbia don't really have one from what I've been able to tell accent-wise but have done quite a bit of linguistic borrowing from other cultures that have settled there (or were there before in the case of the aboriginals). Up North in the territories, the influence from aboriginal culture is often heard when speaking English and there are plenty of words worked in from those languages.**

* * *

_Translations_

_Naw, me ol' b'y. My 'ead feels right logy. I dies fer it te' stop, eh b'y_ (Newfoundlander accent/slang- No, my friend. My head hurts (or have a hangover by context). I want it to stop. Eh boy is often just stuck at the end of a sentence for no reason or is an agreement.)

 _Get lost, eh?_ \- (Can slang- heard pretty much everywhere. Means go away.)

" _Chu..._ (Québecois slang/jargon- Chu= je suis)

 _Y s´en câlisse._ (Québecois slang/jargon- I don't care)

 _Hey le constipé du cerveau, espèce de vieux mononcle de ciboire. Le ministère de la Santé va faire écrire sur les paquets de cigarettes que t'es rien qu' un BigMac sans sauce anti-vomi macéré longtemps dans de la pisse d'ours polaire! J'me roule a terre juste à la vision de te pisser à la raie au festival western de Saint-Tite ostie d'crisse de tabarnak!. Va te faire ramoner le muffler chez Canadian Tire!"_ (I would rather not translate this. Let's just say it is a typical rambling insult and if directed at you, you should be offended by it. If you understand this, you are probably just as amused by this style of insulting as I am)

 _Spinnnin' an' Freakin'_ (Prairies- reckless driving)

 _The Jaw_ (Prairies- apparently slang for Moosejaw)

 _Timmy Ho's_ (Can slang- Tim Hortons. A coffee joint that is our Starbucks.)

 _Double Double_ (Can slang- Coffee with double milk and double sugar)

 _Bunnyhug_ (Sask slang- a hoodie)

 _Skookum_ (Sask slang- strong or excellent)

 _Screech_ (Maritimes- a very hard liquor)

 _Masi_ (Yukon, NW territories & Northern BC- Chinook jargon of merci)

 _akuvijarjuak (_ Inuit- thin ice on sea. - the Inuit have a lot of different words for ice kinda like snow (though nowhere near the numbers mentioned in the urban legend))

 _Take off_ (Can slang- go away)

 _Altyerreor (_ Aus aboriginal word- Means the Dreamworld which is their creation of the world and the things in it, and its eternal existence. Everyone has a dreaming, which has its place and where it come from in the Dreaming

 _Cobber-_ (Aus slang- pal, friend)

 _blanke vrouwen_ \- (Dutch- White Women)

 _Les Dames Blanches-_ (French- White Women.)


	13. Chapter 13

**AN-** **Ah America, you are in this so much more then I intended. Sneaky blighter.**

**There is a lot of jumping around time line wise and I'm sorry about that, I intend to have it hopefully cleared up in a few chapters. But just so you know there are almost 3 time lines now, there's one with Al and the others in the Real World, then there's another with Matthew and the others in the Dream World and then a third with Turkey and the rest.**

****I do not own Hetalia or anything I reference in these at all.** **

* * *

This was not going to be a fun conversation, Pat could tell immediately when he opened the door to an exhausted, exasperated looking American (who had spent an entire day awake and then been delayed at customs). Before the other could open his mouth, he interjected "Bruce, Kathleen and Aneiren aren't here yet boyo. His Royal Highness called em up to _explain_ themselves for the meeting "incident". So glad I don't have to answer to the bugger anymore. he means well but it usually just a pain instead. United Kingdom my arse, we've never been united against anything except common enemies and sometime, not even then! Anywho, you look fair done in, why don't you take a nap while they make their way back?"

Alfred looked over at his adoptive uncle, he was rather tired despite having tried to sleep on the plane. Having not done so for nearly a week was showing in the form of a sleep debt as his body tried to make him sleep whenever the opportunity presented itself but no. He couldn't. The light doze he had fallen into on the flight had scared him too much when he had dreamed of nothing but blackness and excruciating pain. He was scared that if he fell asleep again that he would be alone in his dreams meaning that Matt was gone.

In a definitive sense. That is to say PERMANENTLY.

He didn't want to become the George to Matthew's Fred.

That thought made him break out in a cold sweat and he quickly shook his head both in answer to Pat's question and to get rid of the thoughts that were beginning to plague him. Pat took another look his haunted eyes and at his face, without it's normal cheery smile and gaunt from lack of sleep and decided it would be best to leave him be.

The Republic of Ireland then made his way to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate (he was rather fond of the drink, sometimes preferring it over tea) and cookies, the boy looked like he needed it. The last time he had seen Al looking like this was after the hurricane that devastated his coast in 2005 and that terrorist attack before that. It wasn't often that he would allow himself to look so vulnerable and Pat felt his paternal instincts kick in, wanting to offer the boy some sort of comfort, minimal though it may be.

As his uncle bustled about the kitchen Al made his way to the living room and sat down on the couch. He wanted, NEEDED answers. There was no time to be sleeping, not when these four could maybe provide an answer to what was going on and especially not when his brother might need him, his life might even be in the balance. No, sleep was the least of his concerns. He sat and listened to the noises as the old house creaked as the wood shrunk ever so minutely due to the cold weather, the clock chimed the hour and Pat could be heard making his way back to the living room, footsteps loud and glasses on the try he carried clinking.

He then took the steaming mug and plate of warm cookies from him with a quiet thanks before they sat in semi-awkward silence. It was broken about thirty minutes later when the other three arrived.

Upon entering the living room and getting a look at the American, only one thing escaped Bruce's lips:

"Did you get the licence o' the truck that hit you laddie?"

A fairly stunned silence followed that statement before first Pat then Kathleen then the rest of them began to chuckle then outright laugh. Even Alfred joined in, though if anyone were playing close attention, they would notice the hint of hysteria in it.

Tension in the room being alleviated for the time being, Aneiran wiped a tear from his eye and said "Now lad, what was it you needed explained?"

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it was back. Wonder if the entire "Incapable of reading the atmosphere is contagious." cause if so, then Wales had just caught it.

With a sigh, Alfred looked down.

"Look, guys. To be upfront with you, I know that you were lying about Matt being on vacation." Holding up a hand to quell any contradictions, he continued "I know that my brother is missing and has been since Hallowe'en. I also know that he's in reallllly deep ship right now and I'd like you to tell me what's going on."

Stunned, Pat stammered "H-hhow?"

"Since October 31st, I've been having strange dreams where I appear to be in another world judging by the colour of the sky, creatures and heavenly bodies (the stars, moons and the like). I am not in any way in control of them as it appears I am looking out on the world from Matt's eyes, he is the one running around the world, meeting various creatures and  _fighting._ At first I thought they were just strange dreams but after the one time when I saw "my" reflection in the water and realized that I was Matthew that I realized there was more to it then that. However, yesterday was the only that one time that we were both asleep at the same time and I was able to talk to him..."

With that, Alfred proceed to explain everything that he had heard and seen in those dreams up until the nightmarish one on the flight over. The British Isles looked at him with respect when he finished as it took a lot to not lose oneself and go insane in a situation like that.

Once finished, Bruce blurted out,  **"It's been 400 years for the lad?"**

Alfred nodded, exhausted.

"Dia Céilí Mór é!"

The others just looked shell shocked. It was one thing to hear about the potential of such things happening to their "son" but it was quite another to have them confirmed. Shaking slightly, Kathleen stood (as she was the one who had seen the most of it) and began to explain, in turn, what she and the others had deduced and had done.

Once done Al was pale and his hands hurt from clenching them so hard. He was going to injure England if and when he saw him again. This was a lot worse then he had thought, in fact it was downright terrible. Twelve people that he loved and cared about were stuck in another world with every single mythical creature and being ever dreamed up in the time of the world. He could only imagine that danger they faced because not every creature was as friendly as, say, an undine.

Looking over at the American, Aneiren place a hand on his shoulder and said "You look done in. C'mon, take about forty winks or so on the couch. We'll still be here when you wake and you can ask questions then" When Alfred opened his mouth to protest, he cut him off and said "No laddy, that was not a suggestion. Sleep."

Breaking down to pressure from all four of his "uncles" and "aunt", he found himself bundled up in what felt like twenty blankets on the couch and almost immediately nodded off.

* * *

His dreams were anything but pleasant. Images of violence passed before his eyes as Matthew swung his blade around against several opponents, though he felt somewhat...distanced from it all. He saw green blood spurt in the air as he sped past goblins and saw himself charging towards a very angry looking orange dragon. He saw many others charging around engaged in similar fights but when he saw Matthew help a pinned Chupacabra out from underneath an enraged dwarf, he could not help but feel that something was terribly wrong. This feeling was explained when he felt what could only be described as a tap, turning he found himself face to face with his brother's violet eyes.

" _It is not safe here."_

Those five words were all he heard before his head bounced of the small table beside the couch.

Groggily getting up he made his way to the kitchen, rubbing the spot. As he got close he began to talk loudly and urgently: "Guys! Something's changed in the Tír na whatsis! Canada's in a huge amount of trouble – he was fighting against dragons and while awake, he was in the dream space with me! I would imagine that Ukraine and the others are in danger along with Matt!" Now standing in the kitchen, he saw four fairly sympathetic faces looking back at him, Aneiren wordlessly stood, offering America his chair.

As he explained what happened he could not stop  _moving_. Sitting still was impossible, his foot tapped, his hand was either rubbing the back of his neck or running through his hair and he constantly shifting. He managed to keep it to a minimum but his left keep clenching and unclenching. Wait. That wasn't right.

Focusing on his hand now, he trailed off in explanation and stared at his hand. The others noticing this just stared at him quizzically but let him be.

Hand made a fist, thumb folded on the side of his fist.

Hand moves to the side a little, index finger and thumb then stick out.

Pause.

Hand makes a fist again except pinkie is stuck up.

Hand moves to side again, pinkie goes down and thumb tucks under index finger.

Pause.

Pinkie and Thumb are then tucked under the other three fingers.

Hand moves to side, makes a fist, thumb folded on the side of his fist.

Hand moves to side again, fist is made but thumb tucks under index finger.

Hand moves to side again, fist unclenched then does the same weird fist again.

Hand moved again, turning, pointing index and middle finger out while other fingers stayed down.

Hand moved again, palm outward making a bear claw shape.

Hand moved, pinkie and thumb tucked in, other three fingers pointing up.

Then it repeated. After the third time America finally realized why it was familiar. It was ASL, American Sign Language. His own hand was finger spelling at him!

A

L.

I

T.

M

A

T  
T

H

E

W.

Breathing out, he whispered reverently "Matthew?"

Hand clenched in a fist, moved up and down as if nodding.  _Yes._

"How? What?"

Pat leaned over, looked America in the eye and said "um... Are you talking to your hand?"

"NO! Well, kinda. It's Matthew!...Somehow. He's signing to me."

"Wha..."

Just then his left hand came up and tapped Pat in the shoulder. Looking over, Pat then saw it make a circular motion before it's fingers moved making three other signs.

"Um, wha?"

"He just signed Uncle then spelled your name P-A-T" As he said this, his hand signed with him before making that nodding gesture again.

"Okay, this getting a tad too odd fer me. 'Scuse me for a sec. Sorry lads." Bruce said pinching the bridge of his nose and left the room.

Aneiren took a step forward, "Matthew?" Again, a hand nod. "Can you tell us what's going on?"

After a flurry of signs, he said "Slow down there lad, we cannae catch that!"

After that, they developed a system, as many signs were impossible because they required both hands or more motion then he seemed capable of producing, Matt was having to finger spell a lot so while the British Isles went about preparing afternoon tea and went to the living room, Al painstaking wrote down everything Matt was saying while explaining what he had learned from Kathleen. Needless to say that section in the paper was rather explicit as Canada vented his displeasure at England (which made Al laugh). Once finished, America felt his brother suddenly slip away as if cut off by a knife. He then nearly ran into the living room, interrupting the quiet conversation being held there as he shouted proudly "WE FINISHED! An update from Matt and that Tír na nÓg place! We'll have him rescued and back home in no time..." He trailed off seeing Kathleen with her head in her hands, Bruce massaging his temples, Aneiren shaking his head and Pat making shushing gestures. "...What?"

A huff behind him.

"First off America, it is highly improper to come running into a room shouting at the top of your lungs and interrupting a conversation." Uh oh. He knew that voice. "Secondly you are wearing only your boxers and a tshirt (pyjamas)..." turning his head to the side, Al found himself looking into a pair of annoyed emerald eyes "and thirdly what is this about the  _Tír na nÓg_?" England.

There was a moment where he stood in shock before he felt an unfamiliar rage and the next instant, Arthur was flying across the room.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR!"

"FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY BROTHER YOU JACK ASS!"

"YOU DON'T HAVE A BROTHER YOU STUPID WANKER!"

At that England again found himself staring into the furious eyes of the world's superpower.

"What. Did. You. Say?"

Gulping, England steeled himself "You don't have a brother so do not use that as an excuse." and felt himself being pulled up by his shirt's collar.

"Listen shit-for-brains. Remember my brother? Matthew. Matthew Williams. Canada. The one who still has your queen on his fucking currency and has been by your side for nearly every war in the past two centuries? The one you took from France after the Seven Years War? The one who has stayed loyal to you despite all the shit he has to put up with? Because of all that he has done for you, you should have at least the decency to remember his fucking name!"

By the end of his spiel, Arthur's face had reddened and looked sheepish. "Hehheh. Right. That brother. I'll apologize to him when I next get the chance."

Something in Alfred just snapped and he roared out "HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU THINK YOU CAN APOLOGIZE FOR THE SAME THING BEFORE IT LOOKS LIKE YOU JUST DON'T CARE?" Lifting England off the ground completely, he brought the hapless, pale man up to his eye level. "DID IT EVER OCCUR TO YOU ENGLAND THAT WE MIGHT NOT GET A SECOND CHANCE? MY BROTHER IS PRESENTLY TRAPPED IN ANOTHER FUCKING DIMENSION WITH A FUCKING PSYCHOPATH FOR 400  **FUCKING** YEARS BECAUSE OF YOU! HE VERY MIGHT WELL NOT SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH FOR YOU TO FUCKING APOLOGIZE!" Here, America's strong voice began to waver and Arthur found his feet again touching solid ground as the other continued to yell while leaning forward and putting his head on his shoulder. "Even though you REALLY WANT to say SORRY and make up for all of the for all of the _shit_ you've caused him because he keeps being forgotten and mistaken for YOU. To try and make up for all the fucking times you've missed spending with him, weren't there when he _needed_ a  _hug_ or for FORGETTING HIS BIRTHDAY! _Again!_  For invading him or pressuring him into doing things for you. But you can't. YOU JUST _CAN'T_  because he's somewhere  **WHERE I CAN'T HELP HIM**. I...can't help him and I might never be able to apologize to his face... " and burst into tears.

Arthur just looked stunned. "What? I think I'm missing something..." he said and turned looking pleadingly at his closest sibling, who happened to be Aneiren. Wales sighed but went over and gently pried the sobbing American off and took him to the kitchen to get a glass of water and calm down.

While that happened, Kathleen sighed and said "Since it can no longer be helped, I'll explain but you had better keep this under your hat or I'll kill you myself. Alright, so you remember Hallowe'en when you stupidly attempted to curse America? Well, essentially- you fucked up. You sent Canada across instead, didn't leave a magical marker on him so we could find him easy and, remember how Puck attempted to warn ye about the time shift? Well, you've caused the lad to be trapped there now for about 400 years now or so. We managed to send over Prussia, Germany, South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, Denmark, Ukraine, South Italy, North Italy, Netherlands and Egypt to go find him on the solstice. To sum up, we have twelve nations stuck in the  _Tír na nÓg_ with every single mythical creature/being ever imagined _,_ the boundary down and, from what America has previously told us an enormous war breaking out. We've been worried that any day now we're going to wake up to find one of em have gone the same way as Atlantis!"

Moment of silence "Fuck. I deserved that hit then."

"Yes you did England." Said a voice from the doorway. America had rejoined them. "And you deserve so much more then that really especially after what I've recently been able to find out. Alright, there aren't too many details considering how we ended up talking but it should do just fine for now."

Talking a deep breath he read off:

" _Thank you Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Pat, Bruce and Aneiren for sending people after me and for noticing that I was missing, kindly hit England_ (OW! That hurt!)  _for me. Is there anyway for you to contact them? I need you to warn them- the next they see me, I will likely not be on their side, in fact I'll probably be trying to injure them. You see, Morgan La Fay is still alive and has managed to gather herself an army through bribes, force and magic. There is an enchantment that she has devised that is able to take control of any single being through the nerves and empties the conscience so they are naught but a shell. I have been able to hold onto myself somewhat as it drained Matthew but not Canada but if ordered to attack I shall have no choice. She has gained control of many- fae, giants, mer people, trolls and more and now she has her sights on the dragons and goblins. It is why I am able to talk with you now Al, as my consciousness has had control usurped from it so, despite being awake, I can join your side for a while. After this though Al I have found the thread that connects us like this and I shall sever it so that she is unable to enter our world through me. I discovered that she is searching for the eleven others as apparently human, earthly, blood is required to open the portal from this side and so she is sending everything she can after them for this purpose. Luckily, somehow I've remained invisible to her so hopefully she will not use me to open the door. Watch out as she has her sights set on coming back to our world..."_

"And it ends there. _"_ Alfred said to the heavy silence. All five nations that composed the British Isles just looked at one another with looks of terror (for they remembered well their time fighting Morgan and rescuing Arthur) and Pat just said one word that summed up all of their feelings

"Shit"

* * *

It had been about two years now since they left the city with barely a sign of Matthew and all they HAD found was trouble. They'd had to fight off Chimera, Lamia, Zombies and Harpies among other sorts of creatures constantly who seemed almost drawn to them. Recently, to attempt to escape an entire herd of enraged Aranea they wormed their way through a series of deep crevices in the escarpment they were presently on and down to the nearby valley before beginning to make their way towards another ridge. After that it was a simple matter to escape the creatures, perhaps a bit too easy, for unknowingly they were heading into to the path of the most dangerous group of creatures sent after them.

That night, they camped in the foothills by an enormous river, in front of a mountain path after Feliciano and Gupta set the defensive wards. It was Ludwig's and Mathias's job to take the first watch that night and after they had all eaten, they settled in for the night. However, once the sun set some unearthly howls and screams could be heard getting closer and everyone was quickly up again, weapons at the ready and totems summoned. Soon about about two hundred creatures came spilling out from the hills and surrounded the campsite as the nations looked on in horror at them. They were about seven feet tall, emaciated, had ashy grey skin stained red with blood in many areas with pointed teeth and claws. Some had animal features such as antlers or fur but all gave a sense of death, violence and corruption. These were the demons that had long since haunted the North of the American continent.

Wendigo.

The horrific creatures then proceeded to pound on the barrier trying to reach the prey just beyond their reach (after all, La Fey needed only one being's blood for the barrier) and after a few hours it began to crack then shattered into a million pieces. The fight was on.

Soon though, the press of numbers began to take their toll and they were separated from each other; Denmark, Germany, Northern on one side by the river, Australia, Southern Italy and Ukraine on another with their back to a nearby hill, Hong Kong, South Korea and Egypt were slowly being forced up the mountain side and Netherlands and Prussia on the far most side, slowly being pressed back into the mouth of an underground cave. All were still alright for the most part though Mathias was bleeding from where his arm had gotten a little to close to a set of fangs and Egypt was injured on his side by a side swipe. They had whittle down the numbers a little before the unthinkable happened, Ludwig, seeing a blow heading for Feliciano sent one of his dogs to push the boy out the way, while rushing forward and blocking it. The force though sent him flying into the river, the fast moving current immediately pushed the German into an underwater rock, knocking him out, while sweeping him away. Feliciano immediately dropped his weapon, while Mathias sent his totem animal flying at them in order to quickly grab him.

"Feli! This is not the time! Keep fighting!" he shouted over the din.

Feliciano just looked back at him with wild eyes and shouted "I CAN'T lose him again!" With that he ripped his arm from the Dane's grasp and jumped in the river allowing his totem to fully posses him so as to navigate the water better. Watching the dolphin speed away from him, Mathias blocked another blow before making his decision. Sending a fiery scythe at his enemies, he cut down all them near him before following Feliciano into the river.

Hong Kong, South Korea and Egypt were not faring much better being pushed back farther and farther as the ones formally trying to get Mathias, Feli and Ludwig then turned their attentions to them. Even with the help of their totem animals, they kept being pushed back as each time they killed one of the monsters another popped to take it's place. Soon they found themselves at the edge of a precipice with nowhere left to retreat to. Looking back and forth between their alternatives, Hong sheathed his two swords, turned, grabbed his two companions shoulders and knocked them all off into the seemingly bottomless cavern below.

Prussia and Netherlands had been now forced back into the caves, disappearing into the blackness and shortly after the Wendigo who had been after them, appeared to lose interest, backing away from the mouth of the cave in almost reverence.

Leaving South Italy, Australia and Ukraine to deal with the remaining creatures on their own. Which was actually not as bad a situation as it sounded;  they were hard pressed simply because they were unable to really go on the offensive due to the sheer numbers of them. Perhaps if the Wendigo were in control of themselves and able to follow their instincts they would be much more dangerous especially considering that they are a more solitary predator and fighting in a huge pack like this was not to their advantage. Australia had surrendered to one of his totems skills and had gone berserk- fighting on his own with tooth, limbs and weapons and had dispatched a large number of the mindless, hideous monsters on his own. Blood dripped down his chin and covered his arms and he let loose the terrifying screams that the Tasmanian devils were known for. Ukraine on the other hand was also quite suited to her totem, she was very like a mother brown bear: meaning if you got near her "cub" you were royally, royally, doomed. Let's just say that Russia didn't just pick up his fighting skills out of nowhere as the pile of corpses around her feet began to grow. Romano also help as he utilized the quick feet his rabbit provided to dart quickly in and out of the Wendigo's reach, inflicting damage but moving too quickly to be caught.

When at last they were able to stop fighting all they could see were mounds of corpses and their comrades were nowhere to be seen with an hints of what might have happened to them, erased by the Wendigo tracks.

Great, now they had to find each other, then Matthew, THEN get out of here. This was getting more and more difficult and they were running out of time. Tempted to ask what else could possibly go wrong, Lovino decided not to as that would likely incur Murphy's law and who knows what that could bring down on their heads in a world like this. 

* * *

 _Chupacabra-_ A vampire type creature from Latin America that sucks the blood of livestock, though I've read a few stories where they have apparently turned to humans for nourishment. They are supposed to reptilian or rodent like in appearance with spines/quills poking up along it's spine and red eyes and they leave behind 3 puncture holes in their victims.

 _Chimera-_  A Greek fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head and a goat's body and a serpent's tail

 _Lamia-_ A Greek monster with the head and breasts of a woman and the lower half of a serpent, which ate children and sucked the blood from men

 _Aranea-_  origin unknown (to me at least), giant, intelligent spiders capable of small magic.

 _Windigo-_  Native American monster, Wendigo are creatures that once were human before they ate the flesh of another man. They over seven feet tall, long-limbed and have very little hair, though there are stories of some who have white, matted, gore stained fur instead. They have protuberant yellow eyes, razorsharp talons on their hands and feet, needlelike teeth, long dark blue tongues and tend to lack lips. Emaciated, the creatures are insatiably hungry and will devour anything in their path and are cannibals, hungering for human above all else. It has immunity to the cold, possesses great strength, speed and has enhanced senses and any wounds not inflicted by silver heal quickly. It is able to mimic human voices, most of which are calls for help but typically is otherwise with the exception of it's roars or howls. 

* * *

_Translations_

_Dia Céilí Mór é!_ (Gaelic- God damn it)

_Tír na nÓg – (Gaelic- The Land of the Ever-Young, the Summer Land)_

* * *

**Sorry for the overuse of Caps.**

 

 

**Also I wrote this as I thought it also might help a tad**

Ludwig – Germany  **Dog,** multiple dogs called, mental communication

Gilbert – Prussia  **Bird (?)** , play with the wind

Feliciano - North Italy  **Dolphin** , acrobat, dream invasion

Romano - South Italy  **European Rabbit** , speed and jumping height

Steven – Australia  **Tasmanian Devil-** see in dark clearly, berserk fighting skills

Katyusha – Ukraine  **Brown Bear-** strength, shields

Lars – Netherlands  **Common Otter-** swimming,healing

Kaoru - Hong Kong  **Chinese Pangolin** (v secretive)- armour scales, curl up in ball n/o can undo

Gupta – Egypt  **Jackal** \- see future/deaths

Mathias – Denmark  **Killer Whale-** strength, speed

Yong Soo - South Korea  **Red Fox –**  speak with spirits (oriental fox is associated w afterlife)

 


	14. Chapter 14

_**The conversation later between HK and China is in Mandarin, I was just very hesitant to trust Google Translate for anything but one word or so, so please just use your imagination.** _

_**I do not own Hetalia or anything else I reference.** _

* * *

Trying to determine where the others had ended up was extraordinarily difficult for, one, they had been the first group to be separated so they had no idea how divided everyone was and, two, out of all three of them, one had no memories really at all of the fight, one was...vertically challenged (I heard that! Who are you calling so small he could ride on the back of a grasshopper?) and so couldn't really see above the tall Wendigo and the other had been slightly over protective of said person.

All they had been able to put together was that at one point, Ukraine had been able to see who they believed to be Hong Kong going up the mountain so it was that way that they went. Up the mountain. To their dismay, just as they turned along the path away from a precipice (which lead to a great chasm), it began to snow, erasing the potential tracks farther up ahead in the snowy peaks. This meant that they had absolutely no way of determining where the others had gone through physical signs, and Australia had nearly used up all of his ceremonial clay the day before the attack, so that option was also out. They decided to simply carry on and hope that they could find some other signs of their companions .

In under an hour they reached the area where the snow began and within another thirty, they were about knee deep in it. Sadly, they had no snowshoes and simply had to wade through it, the two who were less used to the weather developed a crawling technique, using their arms to help pull them through while Ukraine just walked along as if it were barely there at all. The worse thing was that the snow continued to fall, just harder, creating a very disorienting effect. This in turn, made it extremely difficult to see and to stay warm as the winds at the roof of the world whipped around them. Seeing this, Ukraine pulled a rope from her bag and tied them together so they would not lose each other in the storm or if one of them fell into some unseen drop, the others could rescue them.

After two hours of walking, Katyusha looked behind her and startled by the sight before her. The other two nations had dragged all of the furs and extra clothing they had in their packs and had put them on and it looked like they were unable to completely put their arms down. Despite having done a similar thing, she could see that they were nearly hypothermic whereas she was merely uncomfortable. Dragging out her remaining articles of clothing, she pulled to a halt and proceeded to wrap them around the two boys. Then, taking some maps and other bits of paper that were in the three bags, she proceeded to shove it into their coats, providing some more insulation against the biting cold. The she rearranged all of all their external layers so that several scarves covered nearly their entire face and the hats they wore covered their ears and shielded their eyes from the snow (pity they didn't have goggles), then fixed the way their pants went into their shoes so that no more snow could go in. She was pleased to see that some colour returned to their cheeks, though they still looked cold.

Then she took one of their empty water bottles, she filled it with snow and stuck into her own coat so that her body heat would melt the snow. This would provide them with water to prevent dehydration, a true danger in this setting despite being surrounded by snow (because just eating snow will cause you to lose heat, burn needed calories and get sores in your mouth with very little water actually going in your system.). The snow at this point had become a curtain of white and by squinting her eyes, she could barely make out heavier clouds heading their way, a sure sign that weather they did NOT want to be caught in was well on it's way. Especially with her companions looking like they did - one being accustomed to a Mediterranean climate and the other to Southern warmth, (either way they did not see snow often). She might feel safe continuing on a bit farther with her brother or Matvey until the storm did arrive but not these two.

A full blown blizzard was going to hit and they were already dangerously cold. She needed them out of the open. NOW.

She set their packs down and told them that they would be camping here. The others immediately went and began to get the tent out, but she stopped them and got them to sit down on the ground instead and proceed to wrap them in her coat and furs (she had been in colder situations before) in addition to the blankets and the tent fabric before beginning to dig. Soon she had a nice respectable snow cave which she gently pushed the two into before calling on her totem and allowed it to fully posses her, leaving a full grown Grizzly (or Kodiak if you prefer) bear to wiggle into the cave. Curling around the two, she let her nice warm fur further insulate them and was happy when they finally stopped shivering. They talked well into the night, exchanging stories and experiences (anything to keep them awake), while every now and then, one of them would make sure that the entrance was still clear of snow and ate little bits of jerky and drank the now-melted water as the storm screamed around them and the temperature plummeted.

* * *

How long they were stuck in that cocoon of blackness was hard to say, though it felt like several days as the storm raged. Once the screams of the wind had died down, Romano had ventured outside through the (now-tunnel due to snow build up) entrance and was stunned to see the world outside as the sun shone down on him and made the pristine white snow around him almost sparkle. Calling an all clear down below he wriggled his way out, stepped out into the snow...and promptly sunk up into his neck in the snow much to Australia's delight as he exited after him, standing on the snowy entrance.

"Cazzo fa freddo!"

This however, as funny as it looked, posed a new problem to the trio, they would not be able to wade/crawl through the snow as they had before and they definitely could not walk on it (In fact they were lucky it wasn't deeper as they yanked the poor stuck Italian out). There was no way they could just stay here and wait but there was no other way out except by walking. The solution they devised was both creative and tricky, Australia, by sitting on Ukraine's bear form's back, would work some water magic, getting the snow to clump and harden in front of her as they made their way along. This would make it possible for her to walk especially once she made her feet bigger, distributing both her and Australia's weight more effectively like a bear wearing snowshoes. Romano then changed into a rabbit, leaving his furs and clothes to a grateful (and now warm) Australia and slept in the Aussie's shirt under all of those layers. It was through this method that they made it to the other side of the mountain range in under a week.

Once on the other side and past the snow, Romano and Katyusha quickly reverted back to their normal forms, thoroughly exhausted from the amount of magic they had used in keeping those shapes. Katyusha in particular was having problems separating from her totem if her brown hair, sharp teeth and long nose were anything to go by; as, unlike Romano, she had been unable to change back during that week or the other two would likely have frozen to death at night when the temperature dropped further. It took awhile and the clothes and other items were redistributed and they set out walking towards a nearby forest.

* * *

The rain just continued to fall on the hapless trio as they wandered before meeting a rather large, fast moving river, they decided to camp there and wait for the rain to stop before attempting, what would otherwise be, a hazardous crossing.

Australia, knowing that the fish are more likely to bite during a downpour such as this, went and sat on the bank, near the lake the river flowed into (so the current wasn't so bad as to keep the fish away) while Katyusha and Romano went and set up camp. Once this was done, the two decided, already being soaking wet, to join him and cast their own lines in an attempt to catch dinner (that wasn't dried jerky. Hooray!)

Drip.

Drop.

They sat there in amiable silence for about twenty minutes and both Steven and Romano caught a fish, though Ukraine's line remained sadly limp.

Drip.

Drop.

Once a third fish was reeled in (Eat that bastardo! VENI VEDI VECI! Hahaha!), they began to pack up and the two boys, hurried back towards the embankment.

Drip.

Splash.

Wait. Splash?

Katyusha saw an odd shape in the water and stepped forward to the edge and leaned over, to get a better look. And in doing so, she inadvertently did exactly what the creature wanted as it lunged forward with a dreadful roar before she had time to react. *It was a thing of many kinds that could not be truly seen, but its red eyes were like death and its bellow was like fear. It was like a calf, like a seal, like a man; it was white, it was black … It was all these things, together and separate, in one fearful beast … It was feathered, furred, and scaly. You could not tell what it was except that it was dreadful …*

Her scream alerted the other two and turning around they then saw a now limp Ukraine hanging from a terrible mouth and the fish hit the ground and the two were charging forward before their brains even had time to catch up. Their own saviour, who had saved them in the mountains was now in horrible danger in the form a creature whose name was been whispered in fear Down-Under, for a millenia.

Bunyip.

Man-Eater.

It was at that same dreadful, heart-stopping moment that they both realized that that they had a fishing rod and fishing spear between them as weapons, only one of which was any use and was really only a one time thing. But they did not have time to run back as the monster was already slinking back under the water from whence it came, dragging Ukraine with it. Eye contact was made and Romano threw the spear to the other and ran ahead before turning quickly, cupping his hands together. Steven, without slowing down, ran and jumped onto those hands and was tossed in the air and forward, flying at the monster that has haunted his lands for as long as the Almudj has bestowed (or not as was his wont) the earth with life-giving rain. As he fell he angled the spear so that, upon his "landing", he pierced the creatures neck. Giving a roar of pain and thrashing his head, it fought back, Katyusha falling out of it's mouth in the process. As Australia grappled with the creature in it's death throes, Romano ran ahead to where the river flowed in the lake, a set of dangerous rapids now. Dashing across the surfaced rocks and sliding across the submerged ones, he was just able to lean forward and grab Katyusha before she was swept into the rapids and drag her on shore.

Once there, he sat and this time, he would not let someone bleed out in front of him again and proceed to use his (highly depleted) magic to close her serious wounds and fix the internal bleeding caused by the creatures teeth and the pressure of his jaws. There were the large punctures caused by canine teeth at the top of her rib near her liver, where her stomach (organ) was, middle of her stomach (area) and on her side in line with her belly-button, with tinier ones caused by smaller teeth dotting between the four spots. Lifting her shirt to properly have access to her wounds, blushing when he felt her...great tracks of land push against his hand.

OH god, this was awkward. Yes he was healing her, and no there wasn't anything remotely attractive about using your hands to keep someone's blood in their body but he was still a man dammit and Ukraine had some very nice...tracks of land. He wouldn't be distracted if only where the wounds were didn't require him to brush past them every now and again....Try not to think of anything. No! Think of anything  _else._ Spain! Spain was a good, safe topic!

This method stopped working once he had to shift his hand higher to get the puncture wound by the liver ... He was going to hell and he was pretty sure that Russia was going to be the one to send him there. Once this was done, he gently picked her up as best as he was able in a piggy back and carried her back upriver. Passing the demonic corpse, he saw Steven yank the spear out of the corpse before turning to him with a slightly vindictive smile.

"Screw fish, we're having bunyip tonight!"

Sharing that dark smile, Romano ducked into the tent and gently wrapped Katyusha in their sleeping wraps and furs before grabbing his knife to go help Australia. It would be nice to have some dried other meat to go with their dried fish and dried jerky.

If the others could see him now, they would wonder where on Earth the Italian's gourmet tastes had gone.

* * *

That night, when the other two were sleeping, Romano was up on guard duty after relieving Australia early because after his recent nightmare, there was no way he was going back to sleep. He had dreamed that it was Feliciano in Katyusha's place and that when the bunyip dropped him that he had been unable to get to him before the dangerous rapids which then tore his precious fratello's body to pieces, the water turning red around him. He shivered slightly at the recollection.

Making sure he didn't walk to far away from their campsite (as that would just be stupid), he walked up river and filled up his canteen before sitting on a boulder to drink it and looked up at the stars.

It was too bad that they shared none of the same constellations as seeing Scorpio, Hercules, Cygnus or Vela looking back at him would be comforting. These just made him even more aware that this world was not theirs, of the sheer alienness of it and just made him more uneasy.

Suddenly in the corner of his eye he saw a light in the forest bobbing trough the trees on its way towards the river. Slipping down and ducking behind the boulder - because you could never be too careful was a philosophy he had adopted long ago - , he watched as it approached. Soon enough a giant house stepped onto the banks. It was a simple old wood hut with a thatch but there was no doorknob on the door and there was a fence too...made of human bones, each crowned with a skull with glowing eyes which generated the light. And the house itself! It moved around of grotesque looking chicken legs and as it moved, the hut itself spun around, every now and then letting out a small screech. making its movements all the stranger. Romano felt his hair stand on end at the sight of it.

Backing away slowly, he tried to sneak away but with a howling sound, a flying pedestal mortar dropped down in front of him with an old lady on top of it.

" _You look lost little one"_ she said in the other world's tongue.

" _I am just fine, thank you very much. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I left the stov...fire! The fire burning!"_ said Romano, internally panicking. He was pretty sure he knew who  _she_  was and did not want to get involved with such a legendary witch.

" _I did not mean lost in the physical sense. Come, I am not always the monster portrayed in little Ivan's tales, I can give advice when I so choose and it looks like you could use some."_

" _Wh...You know Ivan?"_

" _But of course. I am untameable, despite the "rules" put in place by the stupid fae, every now and then I cross the barrier to give his children a bit of a fright then he and I usually have some водка together."_

" _I don't mean to sound rude_ (for even he knew when to hold his tongue) _, but don't you eat people and scare them? I don't understand why you would help me."_

Annoyed, she snorted  _"If you didn't want my help you could have said so!"_

" _Wait, I didn't mean it like that, it's just the stories that I've heard you tend to be the villain!"_ Romano quickly said, throwing up his hands in a placating gesture.

" _I am neutral, boy. Yes I do enjoy the odd naughty child every now and then but I can be just as helpful as destructive for I can see a person's heart. If that heart is clouded by greed, hate and self-interest, I will most likely eat them, if not trap them and make them my servant if there is a chance of redemption. However, if that heart is clear, I might give advice or gifts but I cannot hurt them. For those types of people are the pure of heart, are deeply loved or heroic and are magically protected from me. You, child, are all three. Under your swearing, you are actually very sensitive and innocent. You are loved deeply by the person you are presently dating, despite your faults and by your brother who never wants to see you_ _unhappy. Your friends' love also protects you somewhat from anything I might try. You are also heroic, for is it not a feat of bravery and heroism to cross dimensions to find someone despite all the potential dangers? No, boy you are safe from me; so let us sit. I believe that we have much to discuss."_

Climbing of her mortar, Baba Yaga (for that was what she is best known as to the Slavics) produced two cups of сбитень from nowhere, she sat on the boulder and gestured for Romano to join her. He warily did and, sensing no evil intent from her (yay rabbit instincts!) took the other cup and took a sip...

" _It's good!"_

Chuckling she said  _"Of course it is dearie. Now tell me what you are here for."_

Straightening, he told the story from beginning to end, watching as her face darkened at the mention of Morgan La Fay at the end.  _"Silly wench, upsetting the natural balance of things. The nasty creatures are breeding and it makes it a lot harder to travel. She is almost asking for some hero to go stick a blade up her ass...Don't look so startled boy! In any story, it is only once the villain makes a big nuisance of themselves are they slain. She is upsetting the status quo and all of us here are from the imaginations of the people of the world, meaning that we tend to follow a pattern and that is the path she is on right now."_

Seeing that he was on the dregs of the drink, she then said " _Alright, in exchange for the information you have given me, I owe you five questions. My knowledge is vast and am able view snippets of the past and future so consider wisely."_

Romano made sure he didn't open his mouth to ask something like "Are you kidding me?", because that was a really dumb way to lose a question. He thought for a moment or two about what he was going to ask before setting up the wording.

Well, perhaps not the wisest question but with her gift of foresight, the child/naive side of him couldn't resist asking, " _Alright then. My first question is will we all survive this and win?_

" _That is impossible to truly answer, but yes, if the correct decisions are made then you should all live."_

Now for the questions they really needed to know the answers to if she had them. " _How do we get home when the border is closed?"_

" _You simply need reactivate the markers. Each are covered in runes and a simple amount of human blood on each as a "sacrifice" and once all five are reactivated on both sides, then the portals should function again. That is why the witch searches so desperately for you, as you are the key to her getting to the other side."_

" _...That explains more then it doesn't. Thirdly, are the companions that came across with me on December the 21_ _st_ _, all alright in mind and in body and safe?"_

Baba Yaga made a gesture with her hand over her forehead where the third eye was said to reside before she answered, " _Yes for now they are all alive and safe."_

" _Where are Gilbert_ _Beilschmidt (Prussia), Ludwig Beilschmidt (Germany), Feliciano Vargas (North Italy), Lars Oranda (Netherlands), Kaoru Wang (Hong Kong), Gupta Hassan (Egypt), Yong Soo (Korea) and Mathia Køhler (Denmark)?"_

" _I hope you realize that that might have been a bit overdone in specificity, right? I'm not a djinn looking for a loophole. Alright so Gilbert and Lars are presently lost in the Caves of Dream and of Nightmares. Ludwig, Feliciano and Mathias are presently somewhere by the sea, though are somewhat scattered from each other. Gupta, Kaoru and Yong Soo are in a cave in the Bottomless chasm."_

" _CAN'T YOU..."_ realizing he could lose his final question that way, he swallowed his anger at her vagueness.  _"Fine. My last question is that I want you too_ _ **specifically**_ _tell me what has happened to Matthew Williams of Canada since he arrived on Hallowe'en to the present day."_

The witch raised an eyebrow before making the gesture again and slumped, looking tired." _...Very well. From what I could see he arrived here four hundred and sixty-five years ago and was met by a Katerz named Chesh. They travelled together for many years until Chesh was summoned back to help to defend the royal fae court about one hundred years later. He wandered alone from elven city, to centaur ones to undersea metropolises to those of the trolls and then up to the dwarfs, spending different amount of time at each. Upon the sacking and kidnapping of the great City and dwarfs with whom he had been staying, your friend tracked them down. Upon catching up to them, he defeated their guards and set all two hundred thousand of them free and then delayed the enormous army sent after them for about an hour on his own. After this he was captured by the little upstart's minions and is now one of her mindless slaves, forced to fight."_

" _WHAT?!"_

" _Nice try. I already answered five questions."_ She then got up, the cups disappearing without a trace and began to walk away.

" _...This is too big for me to handle. FUCK! This was just supposed to be a simple search and rescue mission!"_ Curling up with his head in his hands, he began to curse quietly in Italian and rock in an attempt to comfort himself.

Baba Yaga was already sitting in her mortar and about to fly off again but noticed his actions and decided to tell him one last thing.  _"Remember boy. This world is a land of Dreams, anything, everything and anyone mystical ever dreamed up exists here."_

And with that she flew off into the night, her house following just as Steven and Katyusha ran up to him wide eyed.

"Was that...?" asked Ukraine

Romano just nodded.

"How are you still in one piece?" she asked shocked.

Steven leaned over and shook him "Why didn't you run, have you gone starkers?"

Romano just groaned out "You...cannot...judge...about...going...crazy."

"And why not?" he asked, though he stopped shaking him.

"Because you are the one who gifted the  _Wiggles_ to the world. And if that is not the sign of insanity I don't know what is. Have you ever watched that crack?"

"Awww, come off it. Did you have to mention that? I'll start singing the fruit Salad song if you don't leave off!"

They continued to banter back and forth before Katyusha got sick of them and made them stop. Afterwards, she got them to sit down and have Romano explain. They were done just as the sun began to rise and so decided that they would camp here and wait for the others.

No matter how long it took.

* * *

As Hong Kong jumped off the precipice and took Korea and Egypt with him, in that moment, he was momentarily blinded by a memory.

_~Flashback~_

_It was 20th, the night before they crossed the barrier, and Kaoru was back at China's house and packing his small bag._

_"Xiānggǎng? What are you doing, aru?"_

_He jumped about a foot in the air and turned "Yao! I did not know that you were home."_

_"You are dodging the question little brother. What is troubling you? Why are you packing?"_

_Knowing that he had been caught, Kaoru gulped before answering._

_"I am going on a...trip. I am not sure how long I will be gone."_

_Looking somewhat confused by the vagueness, China chuckled "Going on pilgrimage to find enlightenment? Do you know at least where you are going?"_

_"Yes, but I cannot tell you, the life of someone I care about very deeply could hang in the balance. But I can tell you that it is necessary that I go."_

_"You are not being blackmailed or anything? You know you can tell me anything, right? Aru?" said Yao, concerned and kind of angry._

_Feeling guilty because he knew what his previous comment had sounded like, Kaoru wished he could tell him everything but if it got out, several countries be trusted not to invade the ones on the rescue mission. Like North Korea and Russia. "No, sir. I will be back as soon as I am able."_

_Smiling slightly, Yao put his hand on Kaoru's shoulder "Alright then. Go do what you must, I will have some Dim Sum waiting for your return. Just remember, you are 孩子龙 (Lung Tik Chuan Ren) and that nothing can change that."_

_Letting a small smile grace his face, he replied "Thank you, gēgē" and left for Ireland._

_~Flashback End~_

Right. He was 孩子龙 (Lung Tik Chuan Ren), that was the reason he had jumped rather then face certain death. Reaching deep inside him, he reached for a different area then he normally would for his magic, an otherworldly power that stood out, this instead was a part of him as much as his skin and bones and hidden subtly. Feeling that warm light, he reached forward with his mind and embraced it and felt it pour over and cover him, like a second skin.

* * *

Yong Soo was terrified, they were falling from a great height – it had been five seconds and he still couldn't see any sort of ground. How high up were they? Why had Kaoru pushed him? I mean, sure they were losing up there but it was better then this certain death! The Wendigo he could at least fight, this death had no sort of claws or teeth he could defend against. And he was too tired to summon up enough magic to save himself or anyone else! 

Realizing he was hyperventilating, he opened his eyes and saw Egypt unconscious and falling so by "swimming" through the air he reach over and grabbed him and then looked to his left and saw Kaoru slightly spaced before his eyes narrowed and his face...stretched. Why was he turning bluey-gray? SHIT! Was it something in the air? Some sort of volcanic toxic fumes? Gahhhhhhh. He then felt something brush past his foot and then he and Gupta were no longer falling .

No, they were  _flying_.

He looked down and was astonished to see that he was seated on some weird blend of Eastern and Western dragons. "Wha?"

A deep, rumbling voice answered him "I am 孩子龙 (Lung Tik Chuan Ren)"

* * *

Back in Greece, Japan and Greece were having trouble sleeping. Since Turkey had come over on the way to drop of Spain's folder to visit Japan and had been...different in that he was more short tempered then usual, more violent and looked a mess as though he had not been sleeping. Since the two had an enormous fight within 5 minutes of the visit, the two were finding that they were also more on edge and had also developed a problem sleeping. This did not bode well, thought Japan, Greece not sleeping? It was a sign of the end of the world!

* * *

 

 *This is a description of the bunyip is found in Patricia Wrighton's novel The Ice is Coming. (Wrightson, Patricia.  _The Ice Is Coming_. New York: Atheneum, 1977. Print.) I used it as there are far too many descriptions of a bunyip (shape-shifters maybe?) that I felt it would kind of be a sort of betrayal to stick to one, so yeah. Anyway, if you are from Australia and you feel this is wrong please correct me, I appreciate it. 

* * *

_Translations_

  _Cazzo fa freddo!_ (Italian- Fuck it is cold)

 _Veni, Vedi, Veci_ (Latin- I came, I saw, I conquered. Supposedly said by Julius Caesar and associated with the Roman Empire)

 _Almudj_  (Gundjehmi/Mayali {Aus. Aboriginal languages}- Rainbow Serpent)

 _Xiānggǎng_ _香港_ (Chinese- Hong Kong)

 _Lung Tik Chuan Ren_ _孩子龙_ _:_  (Chinese- children/descendants of the dragon, Chinese apparently will call themselves this )

gēgē 哥哥 (Chinese- Big brother)

 _водка_ (Russian- Vodka)

 _сбитень_  (Russian- Sbiten, Russian tradition hot winter drink made of water, honey, spices and jam)

 _starkers_ (Australian slang- crazy)


	15. Chapter 15

**AN-** **I blame one of the following sections crack on a sleepless night with my roomie. We have had 16 fire alarms in my dorm since September, and since returning to school (only a week), we've had two both after 3 in the morning. So yeah, I have an excuse!**

**I own nothing except the story line.**

* * *

After everything had been revealed to Arthur and night fell, the entire present household retired to the various rooms within Pat's home, with the Irishman even agreeing to let Arthur stay the night.

Much to the Brit's dismay.

He had managed to keep his mask – his stiff upper-lip – intact throughout the evening, but wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to hide it all. Since America had read that letter and Ireland had explained everything, his mind had been in turmoil and had left him with remorse, shame and self-reproach but above all loathing for his stupidity.

England lay there in the dark of the room, clutching to his chest the note (that he had sneaked off the counter when no one was looking) that America and Canada had written together.

He wished America had hit him harder. Hell, in fact, he wished he had beaten him up. Anything to help lessen the overbearing  _guilt_.

He felt awful.

This was all his fault.

He should have listened to Puck.

He shouldn't have even attempted the spell.

He had completely cocked up.

He was a complete prat.

And it was only here in the darkness, that he felt comfortable enough to let those emotions show.

Tears rolled down the Englishman's cheeks as his body struggled to keep contained his mental anguish and silent screams. Curling up in a tighter ball, he grabbed a pillow to smother his choked sobs.

After some time passed and he was able to once again reel in his emotions of the matter and bury them, he began to think. Surely there was something he could do, after all: he had studied under some of the greatest magic wielders of all time including Merlin!

That was it!

Reaching out, he gently grasped his magic and pulled, summoning forth his totem/familiar and an old friend, Broccos.

Soon enough there was an incredibly grumpy badger sitting there.  _"Give me one good reason you stupid kit, that I should not bite your face off for having disturbed me from my sett?"_

Arthur decided it would best not to mention that his sett took up residence in his soul as in order to gain its help, he was going to have to appease it. "The reason is simple, I... fucked up to a whole new level and I NEED your help. Tell me Broccos, how many times have I begged for your assistance? That alone should at least peak your interest."  
Noting the gleam in its eyes, he knew he had its attention and proceeded to relay all he knew to it.

After a few moments of silence, the badger stated  _"You are lucky that I like you, you stupid kit. You have been incredibly foolish in my absence! What were you thinking not summoning me for such a_ _complex spell? I could have at least talked you out of it or assisted you in doing it properly so there would not be such a mess! Now...do you have that letter? For I think we need to take another look at it."_

Feeling even more chastised, Arthur was quick to bring for some pixie lights and unfolded the note. Reading over it together unabridged, for Alfred had skipped a bit such as the section where Matthew tore Arthur a new one verbally (which caused the Briton to wince at the sheer vulgarity of some parts), they were unable to glean any other new information from it, though one word peaked both of their curiosities.

At the bottom of the paper was one single word, nothing leading up to it or after it.

_Assabikeshi_

Though the word seemed familiar, neither of them could quite place it and moved onto other matters. It was only once the sun began to rise once more did the two figure out the requirements for opening up the portals again (summoning several spell books and texts on the matter as well), after which Arthur requested that Broccos go locate the five portals-after promising it several wasp grubs and went down stairs to make breakfast, feeling better and satisfied with himself.

Too bad the others would not share that feeling when they saw he had made breakfast (and what he had made!)

* * *

It seemed insomnia was catching, Japan thought rubbing his temples in an attempt to ward off an enormous headache. He had visited China after Greece and returning on the 26th he had found his brothers and sisters all in a similar state with big dark circles under their eyes, short attention spans and even shorter tempers. Though he was no better after a brief but bitter fight with China about all the past wrongs they had done to each other and their respective siblings. Tibet had even throttled Mongolia once before profusely apologizing while Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand had attempted a civil game of cards but after a game of war (baaaad idea on their part) an enormous brawl had broken which had nearly destroyed the house.

And they weren't the only ones, he heard the news that Greece and Turkey had broken their stalemate over Cyprus and were now actively fighting and that Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Albania were also beginning to act strange and aggressive.

He hoped things got back to normal soon.

* * *

Within a few minutes of flight, Korea had calmed down enough and now was shrieking his delight to the wind, alternating between shouting in joy and singing.

"...같은 하늘 아래 살아도

다시는 못 볼 사람

나는 천번을 다시 태어나도 ...

It was still dark out (as they had been attacked by the Windigo at about 3am), though false dawn or zodiacal lights could be seen signalling the world's sun's approach. It was a pity that everything was blanketed in a thick fog, Yong Soo would have liked to have seen what their surroundings looked like. From the little that Kaoru had spoken, he was trying to bring them back up to the path they had been on, just a little further ahead but was having trouble finding his bearings.

...그댈 사랑합니다

오늘도 기다리는 나를 잊지는 말아요

험한 가시밭 길

지나서 그댈 만날 수만 있다면 ..."

A small groan from in front of him, alerted Yong Soo that his companion had at last regained consciousness.

"GUPTA! How's your side? I did my best to bandage it."

Wincing at the other's loudness, the other slowly answered "It appears to be all right, thank you Yong Soo. What is going on?"

"Well...it would appear we are lost. Before that though, we were up at the top of the chasm and Kaoru jumped off it and took us with him before he became a giant dragon and caught us!"

"...Alright. What do we do now?" The Arabic nation asked in his usual monotone.

Unaffected, the Korean respond with "I'm not sure but I think we should stop and rest, before Hong collapses on us in exhaustion. After all we didn't get to sleep (which originated in Korea!) last night at all. " After a moment or so, he continued with a thoughtful expression "If we were to agree to that plan, would you be able to see it? The future I mean, so we could quickly find a place to rest?"

"ربما . I will try"

"Can't ask for more. Da-ze."

Bringing forth his own totem, who he had affectionately named Mery Ammon, they stared together into the mist before Gupta called out "Down five hundred metres and to the left"

Kaoru snorted in agreement and, folding his wings, he plunged downward before unfurling them quickly upon sighting the cave mentioned. Then turning, he flew straight in, losing his shape as he did so that once inside he was in human form again.

And promptly collapsed from exhaustion.

The other two, knowing that they could not afford to let down their guards even now, opted to stay awake and stand guard after erecting the protective enchantments and wrapping the other in blankets.

* * *

Sitting in silence for a little while, Yong Soo turned to Egypt after about an hour, looking slightly nervous and began to talk.

"Hey...Gupta?"

"Yes Yong Soo?"

"I...was wondering. You see...whenever me and Australia were on guard together, we would play a game where we pick some book or movie and try and place the people we know as the characters... Would you play for a bit with me? I don't like it when it is quiet like this, it unnerves me."

Gupta seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding his assent, "What did you do the last time you played?"

"Well, so far we've covered the Odyssey, King Dongmyeong of Goguryeo, Fruits Basket, Alice in Wonderland and To Kill a Mockingbird. The last time we got about halfway through Lord of the Rings."

"Hmm. Odd choice."

"He said that it reminded him of his brother Zealand."

"Ah"

"Yeah. So, so far we picked Spain for Pippin as they are both well-meaning but oblivious and Romano for Merry who are both smart with an evil sense of humour. To meet Sam's diligence, loyalty and OCD attitude we thought Ludwig would be the best fit meaning that Feli would HAVE to be Frodo because who else would Ludwig go to such lengths for? That and Feli has proven through his history to endure much evil for the sake of others, just as Frodo does. Gimli is Mathias as they both are obsessed with axes and showing up Legolas who then has to be Norway as they are both similar in stoic-ness and are incredible shots with a bow. Germania could be Elrond because of his age, the fact he seems to only have one expression- of seriousness, braids and solemn way of talking . China is Gandalf cause he's old and wise and Greece is Treebeard for his love of living things, appreciation for taking ones times and for being violent when angered. We kinda got stuck on the others."

"...You are ridiculous."

"Maybe, but it's a way to pass time. SO who do you think would be Aragorn?"

"..."

"C'mon. Try it! Please!"

"Fine. Switzerland"

"야호! Good, good. Why?"

"Because...He has that entire reluctant hero thing and Switzerland does as well through his neutrality. I would imagine that if faced with a similar situation, he would be forced to act, though he would prefer to be left alone, much like Aragorn."

"Alright. That would mean that Arwen would have Liechtenstein who can fight but prefers not to and cares for Aragorn and fears for his safety."

"True."

"Alright then! What about Boromir and Faramir?"

"America and Canada. The former has all the father's approval, believes heavily in honour and is highly skilled in war. Whereas the latter keeps trying to meet expectations but can't as he's more scholarly then a warrior, wishes to live in peace, is very loyal even to the point of facing certain death but just lives in his brother's shadow."

"... HOW DID WE MISS THAT?" The Korean shouted and threw his arms in the air

"o_O"

"Sorry about that. *cough* We spent a good twenty minutes trying to figure out who would fit and you did it in ten seconds! Wait... That would would make Denethor, England or France!"

"Indeed... That is rather creepy. Likely England as he is more likely to overlook Canada. Who is left?"

"The Rohan people, Gollum, Bilbo and the Villains."

"Well, Gollum is easy- he is obsessed with the ring and Sealand is obsessed with becoming a nation, so he could be him. The Ukrainians were among the first to tame the horse so Katyusha could be Theodin and Steven has a fair history of using the creatures as well so he could be Eomer. Considering Eowyn's personality- the desire to fight/protect, duty bound but with the wish to escape the cage built around her, she sounds like two people but because I cannot imagine Hungary with Faramir, so it would have to be Gilbert."

At that neither could hold back a snort of laughter, the mental image was rather amusing.

"Alright, well considering who Frodo is, I would say Roman Empire but he would not fit in with the background, especially the Sackville-Baggins who are constantly trying to steal his house... which makes them sound like Belarus..." A horrid yet amusing thought occurred to the two of them at the same time and Egypt continued to attempting to smother his laughter while finishing his suggestion "...Russia?"

The thought of Russia as a three foot something, garden/peace loving hobbit was too much for both of them and even the more stoic of the two could not resist laughing.

"Ha. I'm done. Heehee. I'm never (ha) playing (bwaha) this with you (haha) EVER again!" South Korea got out.

"Please don't." Egypt replied before dissolving into silent laughter.

And they sat in silence for a bit before Gupta told Yong Soo to sleep, after all he had already done so (unconsciousness counted right?) and sat by himself enjoying the silence though soon found himself doing the same thing with many of the tales from his homeland, with amusing results.

* * *

The next morning saw the three of them going to explore the cave as outside was too foggy for anything to be seen clearing posing serious danger to flying. Before they went anywhere though, a set of rules was laid out- no horsing around, stay together, keep in sight of one another and make sure that at each turn that someone mark the ground or wall so the direction they came from could be found as getting lost would be disastrous (and resemble many peoples worst nightmares). Finally, at the first sign of danger, they would go back.

Luckily for them that each of their totems were nocturnal so even in the pitch black (as they had no way of making torches or the like) they were at least able to make out the basic shapes. So by drawing on the claws and eyes of their totem animal - Kaoru also called on the armoured scales and insisted on going first as sharp rocks would do him little harm and he could warn the others- they made their way through the small gap at the gap of the cave they were in and into a huge network of caverns.

Time seemed to pass differently down there, with every movement seeing to take an eternity while the need to sleep and eat arrived to soon. Crawling up what was a naturally made staircase, they reached at last a sort of plateau where they were able to meet the needs of their bodies. However, they had a minor problem in that every time they tried to move upwards, towards the surface; they would find themselves moving downwards, causing them to abandon more then one possible route.

Some caves they were stunned to see dazzled brightly with precious stones of all kinds whereas some others glowed from some sort of inner heat and then there were other caves that were filled with pointed rocks.

Then with about the sixth route they tried, they at last met with a bit of luck- a river. Now it typically went that one could follow said river to the surface, though this was sadly not the case. Instead, when the Trio followed it upstream, they instead found themselves having to crawl through a rather thin horizontal crack before they were able to reach an enormous cavern, filled by a giant lake, where the source of the water was from, with a strange lit source floating overhead.

Approaching the water, Gupta signalled the others to wait behind him. He knew all too well that the seemingly peaceful waters could hold great danger in the form of a crocodile or hippopotamus and so cautiously approached the edge and leaned over. What he saw astounded him. Gesturing to the others that it was safe to approach, he stared in wonder at the water. What appeared to be trees pocking out of the water were actually great posts, and through the crystal clear water he was able to see what exactly they were used for. Just below the surface there were great chains wrapped around each of the posts, creating a grid pattern and every few meters there were magical talismans tied to the great lengths. Underneath were the sleeping faces of giants, horses, elves and more; dressed in antiquity armour.

A voice piped up beside them  _"Those are the ones who fought in the last great war over a millenia_ _ago when Loki tried to start Ragnarok before it was time...they are bound and enchanted to sleep until it is broken..."_

Startled, the three of them jumped but could not see anyone, then from the post nearest to them they saw movement as the stone gargoyle perched at the top fluttered its wings.

" _Wha? You MOVE?"_

The stone gargoyle slowly answered, with a voice withered from age  _"Of course, I am the guardian of this area. You are the first people I have seen here in a long time. Tell me, what is new from the surface?"_

 _"...um. If you are a guardian of this place, should you not be, well guarding? Attacking us for coming into this area?"_  asked a confused Kaoru.

" _Nah, you lot do not have any malicious intent and, like I said, I don't get many visitors so if you tell me what has been going on, I will offer you fair compensation."_

" _Very well..."_  said Gupta  _"...though please understand that I am not abreast with this country's affairs, though I shall do my best."_ After that, he proceeded to explain what had been told to them by the elves.

" _Thank you. That gives me a lot to think about. In return..."_  The gargoyle slowly unfurled his wings and took to the air before arriving at one of the posts near the centre and pushing down on it. Then right beside them, a part of the cave wall turned inward, exposing a set of stairs. " _Those should bring you back up to the surface, though be cautious..."_

As soon as the staircase opened, Yong Soo had stared for a second with wide eyes and (grabbing his companions arms) tore off up them before the other had finished.

" _...up there, there be dragons."_

The Korean ran up a thousand or so stairs before stopping to catch his breath and let go of the others arms, his entire body dropping with sudden fatigue. "Stairs like these were not invented in Korea. Da-ze." The other two just stared in silence at him before Egypt bent down and picked him up (after all, he had been the last person to take watch) and carried him piggyback as they slowly continued up the stairs.

Then they reached a platform...

"The hell?!"

* * *

Instead of reaching the top of the stairs like they thought, it instead brought them out into an open area with a great winding staircase...which just reminded them of the time Canada had managed to convince most of them (except for Romano) to do the CN tower stair climb with him. All One thousand, seven hundred and seventy-six of them...And this looked to be at least double that amount of steps with doors lining the sides.

With a sigh, they began to climb.

After what seemed like days (and Korea was up and walking now), they realized something crucial, no matter how close they seemed to the top, they could never quite reach it – the staircase was growing. Sighing in exasperation, Egypt leaned into the wall only to belated realize that it was a door and fell through...

Onto the floor of a great cavern with sunlight streaming through, with Hong Kong and South Korea not far behind, wide eyed, for it was not the caves beauty or size that held their attention but rather its occupants. Dragons. Who looked at those who had just stumbled into their realm with disdain and hunger.

"Hello!" How Gupta wished the other could read the atmosphere as he gently grabbed his hanbok-esque clothing and tugged the other backward...but the door! It was gone! SHIT!

Just then a large Welsh dragon charged forward, jaw open, with sharp wicked teeth gleaming and they could  _smell_  its putrid breath and almost see down its throat...They were gonna die, they were going to be eaten! He would never get to see his beloved pyramids again!

Then, in the seconds before the mouth clamped shut on the two, a large blue-grey one slammed into the much larger one and knocked it over. He then stood defensively over the other two, growling protectively. Kaoru!

Just as several of the other beautiful creatures got to their feet and began to advance, Korea felt a big, heavy hand on his shoulder and saw behind him several hundred Yeti. The tall, white furred giants were appeared to be led by the one with his hand on his shoulder as he had more beads and ornaments woven into his fur. He then opened his mouth to speak...oops,  _she_  opened her mouth and began to speak.

" _RUDE! RUDE is what you are! Shame on you. You would think that are nothing but wyverns not proud dragons! SHAME! They have come up the stairs of time meaning that they have at least the approval of the guardian Hugo! Have you forgotten_ _ξενία? Whatever your quarrel with them they are protected by the bounds of _ξενία from both Hugo and from the immortal one from the other side,, you should be ASHAMED_ "_

Looking appropriately reproached, those who had been eyeing them earlier, skulked off while the friendlier ones stayed watching them curiously.

" _Now what can I get for a group of hungry guests?"_ She enquired with a friendly smile (though it showed all her pointy teeth)

* * *

Blackness. Nothing but inky blackness surrounded them. That and the sound of their footsteps echoed around them. Once the two of them had been forced back into the gaping maw on the side of the mountain, they had quickly been disoriented. The few Windigo that had followed them in had been killed (he was pretty sure) and they were now left to wander in the blackness in an attempt to get back to the mouth of it so as to rejoin the fight.

"Watch where you are stepping dummkopf! That was my foot!"

"Well, why was your foot in the way of where I was walking dwaas!"

And it didn't help that the two nations more prone to anger were stuck together in this situation, growing more and more frustrated and all-together sleep deprived. Not the best combination especially when they needed to work together.

Giving a growl of frustration, Lars grabbed Gilbert by the shoulder (after swinging his hand into the empty air first a few times) and said "Hold still, let me get one of those flints and lanterns from your pack."

They were silent for a bit before Gilbert (impatience not helped by his restlessness to go fight or fatigue) who then called out "Well, do you have it yet? Cause if you do, hurry up and light the damn thing!"

From the blackness came the Dutchman's voice, filled with uncertainty. "Um... I already did."

"...WAS?"

"Yep, here. Let me show you." Groping about in the darkness the other came in contact with the Prussian's hand and brought it up near the candle's wick. "See? You can feel the heat same as I can. It's lit, but not giving up any light..."

"Weird. What did you do to it"

"I don't like you right now."

"Feeling's mutual until I get to eat. Or sleep. Whichever."

"Agreed."

Snuffing the useless candle and putting it away, the hapless duo continued to fell their way through the dark while the taller of the two kept walking into stalactites before Gilbert gave a shout and ran off ahead.

"Look Lars, there's a light up ahead! Must be the entrance. C'mon."

Instead he found nothing but a strangely illuminated cavern with a river flowing through it. "Shit! Hey Lars?" He turned but the Dutchman was nowhere to be found.

"Lars?"

"G-gil? Is...is tha you?"

Wait that wasn't the druggie's voice, who was it? It seemed familiar.

"Where are you?"

"Over here." Said the voice, sounding rather faint.

"Climbing over a small boulder at a curve in the river, Gil still couldn't see anyone.

"Where?"

"Down here. Sorry bruder but I'm a sight for sore eyes."

 _Bruder?_ Wait a second. Gilbert climbed down before his eyes widened in horror and he had to keep himself from screaming.

There at the shallow part of the river was Ludwig, covered in blood with an arm and foot missing and covered in horrific gashes, the water around him a pale pink. "B-bruder. Help me."

And then he was gone. Dead.

This could not be happening.

* * *

**AN- Just a note. The caves HK** **, Eg and SK go through are on the other side of that crevice so the two are SEPERATE systems and the ones the trio go through are normal ones.**

**The Yeti is based of one of my Classical Studies professor's lectures. She is awesome and that lecture helped me finish that section.**

_Translations/Definitions_

_Cocked up_ (English slang- messed up big time)

 _Prat_ (English slang- same meaning as idiot but a bit more offensive)

 _Broccos_ (Celtic- Badger)

 _..._ _같은 하늘 아래 살아도_ _/_ _다시는 못 볼 사람_ _/_ _나는 천번을 다시 태어나도_ _/_ _그댈 사랑합니다_ _/_ _오늘도 기다리는 나를 잊지는 말아요_ _/_ _험한 가시밭 길_ _/_ _지나서 그댈 만날 수만 있다면_ _.._.(Korean song Arirang- ...Even living under the same sky/People see you again/I am a thousand lifetimes/I love you to/Do not forget me waiting for today/Thorns troubled road/If you could see past the last time ...)

 _ربما_ \- (Arabic- Perhaps)

 _Mery_ (Ancient Egyptian- Beloved) +  _Ammon_ (Ancient Egyptian- Hidden One)

 _야호_ _!_ (Korean- Yay!/Joy!)

 _ξενία (_ Greek- xenia or Guest friendship. This lays out the code for hospitality, treatment of guests/hosts despite whatever relation you have with the other and breaking it was seen as a grave insult- it's one of the reasons for the Trojan War. Really cool idea, look it up!)

 _dummkopf_ (German-fool)

 _dwaas_ (Dutch- moron)

* * *

**Explanations for Totems-ish. Hopefully you can see why I picked them now.**

**First off, each totem is a creature that is native to the country and I tried to make them each have a different type of creature, as originally I was going to use the national animal but that backfired due simply to the ridiculous amount of lions and eagles.**

**Secondly, I needed a variety of animals for different "attitudes" and from air, water and earth for when they were divided later.**

**Alright then, so for individual explanations. Be forewarned I got about 98% from totem websites so it can be a be...odd. The rest is from actual animal characteristics**

**Ludwig – Dog: tends to symbolize endurance of spirit, fierce protectors, devotion/faithfulness to perceived family, strength, noble and guidance. Personality depends on how is treated, can be a soldier or a mad fighter or a gentle creature. Enjoys helping others.**

**Feliciano - Personality Dolphin Are known for kindness, optimism and playfulness. Tend to symbolize kindness, salvation, hidden wisdom, happiness, emotions/empathy, unconditional love, trust and friendship. Graceful and take joy in life and will protect others (eg humans against sharks)**

**Romano - European Rabbit tends to symbolize protectiveness due to fear, sensitivity, timidness, good luck, survival, love/fertility (xP), attentiveness and speed. Personality wise tend to be humble, cautious/observant.**

**Steven – Tasmanian Devil symbolizes aggression, determination, balance, individuality, ferocity, courage and strength against adversity. Sometimes associated with the underworld and with magic**

**Katyusha – Brown Bear symbolizes protection (especially of family), reliability, enormous hearts, balance (in playfulness and seriousness), strength, self-reliance, healing, endurance, adaption and resilience.**

**Lars – Common Otter symbolizes happiness, unconventional way of living/choices, imagination, honesty, playfulness,desire to help, curiosity, living in the present (and forgiving the past, no regrets) and good fortune. Are frequently linked (cause of the old man whiskers apparently) to laughter, +ve memories, and nostalgia for family and friends.**

**Kaoru - Chinese Pangolin (not much on totems for this creature sadly), symbolizes secrecy, strength, endurance, caution and individual strength/belief**

**Mathias – Killer Whale symbolizes power, balance btwn life and death, memory, creativity, endurance, freedom, trust, individual strength and inner strength**

**Yong Soo - Red Fox symbolizes imagination, wit, shrewdness/cunning, trickery, playfulness, alertness, unpredictability, cleverness and inner wisdom. Problem is within different countries, has different meanings Korea- malicious tricksters whereas Japan, they are neutral can both malicious or benevolent.**

**Gupta – Jackal Also a trickster but is often associated with death, opportunists (making best of it), survival, family, resourceful, guidance and ferocity**

**Gilbert- Bird (?) symbolizes ability to travel between realms- of earth and sky, direction/pathfinder, impulsive, balance, individual, freedom and choice.**

**Arthur – Badger: Brings absolute control over every situation- only concerned with own needs/wants. Are courageous, tenacious, independent, excellent fighters, aggressive, good healers and have problems relating to others. Have problems forgetting past wrongs and will hunt you down and take revenge if felt slighted**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN- Note**   **that while there are human-esque people on the other side, their blood will not work on the Gateway stones. This is because when the world was divided (lets say around the time of industrialization) into the two separate realms – Earth and Tír na nÓg – by sorcerers and what not from our side. Meaning that it would take the blood of someone with magic and who was born in Earth to open them- this is true for both sides. Hopefully that makes sense.**

**Anyway- Hetalia does not belong to me. Neither does anything else that I vaguely (or not so vaguely at times) reference, they all belong to their respective owners. The only thing I own is the general plot. Woot.**

* * *

Waking up for the fifth morning in a row to a  _delicious_ breakfast of burnt toast, something that at some point might be construed as hash browns, white porridge (which had a lot of them confused, wasn't is supposed to be brown?) and blackened sausages. Luckily for the victims, Ireland was out of eggs so that part of the English breakfast (traditionally juice/fruit followed by porridge then eggs then some sort of meat) was missing, though Arthur had made the potatoes to make up for it. At least the one cursed with the worst cooking skills had not attempted fried beans or bacon, or  _black pudding._ Ugh. It was a mystery how a nation could even royally screw up his own recipes – as, honestly, the English and the recipes would not have survived until now unless  _someone_ could cook.

That person just happened to not be Arthur.

The Orange Juice and Tea were decent though.

After Pat and Alfred managed to discreetly get rid of the worst and the majority of Arthur's cooking of Mass Destruction, they sat down to eat. Luckily all of them had suffered under Arthur's cooking before and had very little in the way of gag reflexes in addition to cast iron stomachs. This was fortunate as they managed not to seriously offend the Brit because they could use his help and his extensive knowledge even if the entire mess was his fault to start with. Especially as he began to explain what he had determined over the past five days with Broccos and what he had deducted while his totem was off searching for...something, which he was only explaining now as could feel the badger returning.

Upon Broccos arrival, breakfast was abandoned – giving Aneiren, Pat, Kathleen, Bruce and Al a much needed respite – in order to hear his report of fair success in finding four of the five gateway stones. There was one in Mexico in the Cave of Crystals, the stone of Earth. The gateway stone of Air was located in the peaks of Everest in Nepal. The stone of Fire was located Mt. Etna in Italy, which was the world's volcano with the most continuous eruptions (3500+ years). The one of Water was buried amongst the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The Central one though, the spirit badger could not find.

However any plans of getting to them was stalled when Alfred reached over and poked an irritable badger on the cheek, leaving all five beings that composed the British Isles to stare at him in stunned silence.

"Haha. A badger! How like you Iggy!"

A moment of silence was heard and the American turned to his companions confused "Wha?"

"Hey kit... dea yeh fink yeh could lean o'er just a wee bit te'wars me?" The badger slowly turning around, to turn now glowing red eyes on the impudent American and in his fury, his English slipped into a more rouch accent, "So I can...bi'e yer blinkin' face off!" as the badger lunged forwards, pushing off Arthur's shoulders, claws and teeth at the ready.

A shriek from the heavens announced his soon to be defeat as a fast moving feathered mass knocked Broccos to the ground before wheeling around and landing on Al's shoulder. There, a great Golden eagle then perched, leaning over to preen Alfred's hair.

"Aw, Freedom! You protected me!" said the delighted American as he reached up to tussle up the bird's feathers, earning himself an indignant squawk. "I didn't even have to summon you!"

At this point, Arthur (and his siblings) were enormously confused, not only had Alfred  _seen_  his totem animal but he had physically poked it; something which shouldn't have been possible considering Al's lack of magic. Then he had somehow managed to counter the miffed badger with what appeared to be his own totem. Which again, considering Alfred's lack of belief in the occult should not be possible.

"How...Wot... You..."

Delighted in having rendered his former guardian speechless, Alfred could not resist "Close your mouth Artie, the flies will get in."

"You git! What on EARTH possessed you to poke a badger? And since when can you even see him?" The Briton asked as he leaned forward and picked his dazed companion of the floor, before sitting in a nearby chair.

"Well, that's pretty easy. I wanted to see if I could. Touch him that is. I mean, I've never seen any other totems besides Matt's and who wants to poke a freaking wolf? I like my fingers thank-you-very-much. Also, I've always been able to see magical things – though since industrialization and destruction of the environment, it's been a lot harder – I just didn't want to let you know. As when I told Finland I could, at his villa, he said if I ever met you, not to or else I might get dragged into some sort of hair brained scheme. Then after seeing some of the fae that followed you around I thought it might be a good thing that they thought I couldn't see them. FYI, I'm really creeped out by that Captain Hook guy that follows you around. He spent a night staring at me when I was little when you had to spend the night out and my nanny had the day off."

Looking at the beet-red Arthur, who was struggling to come up with something to say while having an expression of hurt, Aneiren interjected with "He has a point. I mean, there's Pixies, Spriggans, Barguest, Will o' the Wisp, Boggarts and Boggles then Jenny Green Teeth, Boabhan Sith, Banshees that follow ye 'round every now n' again that can be right nasty when they choose and are sensitive about people see em."

"...Fine. I'm still annoyed and hurt America that you didn't choose to tell me." and looking down at a sulking badger in his arms, he added "...And I need you to apologize to Broccos. We will need his help and you are not helping any by bugging him."

Nodding, Alfred hunkered down to the badger's eye level in Arthur' s arms and said "Broccos, I'm sorry man. It's just, I'm really curious and don't tend to think before doing things. I should've at least asked you first."

Stiffly the badger nodded, and, swiped Al's cheek (OW, that hurt!) while still glaring at the other, said "I accept your apology but you best not be curious with me again or I will get to see how your nose tastes."

"...Fair enough" said the American nursing his bleeding cheek.

Just as they were about to get back to the business of figuring out who would be going where and how they would be going about opening the gateways, a phone call interrupted them

_I need a hero to save me now_

_I need a hero_

_Save me know!_

_I need a hero to save my life_

_A hero'll save me just in time*_

"Damn it America!"

"Hold on a sec." Doing the searching-all-pockets-for-phone dance while moving away from the kitchen to let the others talk, he finally found it (it was attached to the back of his pant belt loops) and answered

"Y'ello?"

"Hello Alfred."

"Hey Boss, what's up?"

"Well, have you checked the news yet? I believe this has to do with your...recent project if you will."

"No, we just had breakfast. Why, what's up?"

"Well, there was an earthquake in Germany at 22:43 last night that lasted two minutes and was an 8.7 on the Richter scale."

America swallowed hard and asked "Is anyone hurt? What was the damages? How are the surrounding countries?"  
"That's the interesting part Alfred. No one was hurt and the buildings are for the most part, undamaged but the really curious part was that the tremors stayed within the borders of Germany. There was no tsunami or other sort of natural repercussions we would normally see, in fact the ground there just sunk an entire 2 inches. And it was only in Germany, the West side to be specific."

"WHAT!...tw..two INCHES!" The entire octave change in Alfred's three word answer alerted the others the serverity of his conversation, though only his aunt came over while the rest resumed their conversation.

"Al?" Kathleen asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"But that's impossible! There's no way something like that could happen!" Alfred said rapidly into the mouthpiece of his phone.

"However, that's what has happened; we believe it might have something to do with Ludwig's present activities. Are you still at Ireland's house? Because they might know."

"Yes but they already told me everything which I then told you! I don't think there's anything else."

"Well, we believe they two may be connected. In fact we also think this entire mess might also be connected with the odd behaviour from the personifications of Greece, Turkey, Japan, China, Mongolia, Tibet, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Albania. Look Alfred, I'll be frank. From what we've been able to determine through all the tests we can think of, is that this is a Nation issue. There is nothing economic, political or natural involved which means that we have to ask you to solve it."

"But...boss, I'm just as lost as you."

"Sorry, Alfred. It's up to you guys now, I think it's time you told the rest of them about this and see if you can't solve it together. Tell the ones that you think might take advantage of the situation that you are fully authorized to declare war if need be and that nuclear weapons may or may not be involved if you think it will help. Besides that, there's nothing else we, your government, can do besides supply some money. Best of luck." *click*

Alfred then proceed to stare at his phone for a few seconds before swearing a blue streak at it. And thought to himself that there was no way this could get worse...

"Al?"

"West Germany just had an earthquake. The entire section of land just sunk uniformly two inches but had no effects beyond it's borders."

"What? That sounds almost like what happened to Atlantis except his lands broke apart completely and sank."

Before they could continue their chat, they were interrupted by a huge crash. Kathleen and Alfred winced from the hallway as they heard sounds of Arthur and Bruce arguing combined with the sound of the wood cracking as it was smashed into the ground and dishes shattering everywhere. Someone had flipped the table. Though little did they know that the crash had masked another sound.

"I KNOW IT'S ALL MY FAULT YOU WANKER! WE'VE GOTTEN PAST THAT, I GOT THAT MATTHEW IS PRESENTLY STUCK IN ANOTHER DIMENSION ALONG WITH ELEVEN OTHERS BECAUSE OF ME! SO WOULD YOU DO US A FAVOUR AND ACTUALLY DISCUSS THE MATTER AT HAND!"

"I WOULD YEH IGNARANT TWAT IF YE'D BELT UP FOR A MOMENT! DO YEH WANT RUSSIA TEH HEAR THAT TWELVE OF US ARE HELPLESS? CAUSE I'M SURE THEY CAN HEAR YEH IN MOSCOW RIGHT NOW"

"Hear what? You will explain, Да?"

"Angleterre! What is this you are saying about mon petit Mathieu?"

Immediately the residents of the house all froze.  _Oh, fuck of course Francis and Ivan would have to come in now,_ thought America as he and Kathleen hurried back into the kitchen  _especially during an extraordinarily loud shouting match between Bruce and Arthur._   _That was actually probably how they had gotten in unnoticed in the first place. Damn it!_

Upon entering back in the room, they saw France glomping in a not-so-friendly manner, a slowly asphyxiating Arthur while Russia had a slowly expanding dark aura. Damn it. There was no way they could pass this off. America walked forward and grabbed Russia by the arm, leading him out of the room. Since the Cold War had ended they had slowly become friends-of-sorts though he kept asking Al if he wanted to become one. Right now, Al desperately wanted that to be enough and to be able to trust him.

"Look, Ruski. I need your help."

"For what?" The other asked, suspicious.

"Well, England's an idiot as I'm sure you heard when you came in..."

"Да"

"Well, he accidentally sent Canada to another dimension and eleven others managed to follow him, including your sister..."

Alfred winced at the sudden ominous aura from the other (and the kolkolkol too) and grabbed his arm to prevent him from going into the kitchen, snatching away the other's pipe.

"Wait...Hold on a second...you damn commie!"

Realizing that wasn't working, he managed to wrestle the world's largest nation to the ground and sat on him and began to speak quickly "Look... **Ivan**." At the use of his name, the other stilled "I wasn't kidding. I  _need_ your help... There's some sort of magical upheaval (that I don't quite understand) going on so that the portal needed to get your sister and my brother back can't be opened. Arthur is trying his hardest to make up for his mistake and is looking for a solution to get it to open again but in the meantime, they're trapped. SO killing him won't help us any. Also the twelve of them aren't here to defend themselves, they are vulnerable to being taken over! We are going to be holding a meeting soon (I just need to book the room) to see if anyone else knows what to do or has any sort of advice especially with that earthquake in Germany and that strange behaviour by Asia and part of the Middle East. During that meeting I need you backing me so that no one tries anything funny! Please Ivan! I don't think I can do this on my own."

Ivan looked up at the other and was surprised by the look of desperation he saw on Аmerica's face. He had never seen such an expression on the other's face; even since they had become friends, he had only seen the anger and happy spectrum of the other man's emotions and rarely he would get to see sorrow but never had he seen helplessness or desperation.

What had the American said after he had ceased to be the USSR?

_~Flashback~_

_America chanced upon Russia sitting in a barren field with a bottle of vodka in one hand, his pipe in the other and a dead sunflower at his feet the day after his official dissolution: Dec. 9 1991._

_After staring for a bit at the other for a little bit before taking note of how many vodka bottles surrounded him, Alfred decided to do the heroic thing and walked over to his former nemesis._

" _Look, commie." He sat down besides the other with a sigh "I have fought against you for a long time now, I know you're better then all this moping around stuff." When the other didn't even look his way, he pressed on "So what if they left you?" That got him a murderous glare. "I didn't mean to rub it in your face dude. It's just... You've fallen down so now you have to get back up. Are you just going to sit there in the dirt and watch life fly past you? I know it seems lonely at first, but you just gotta get out there and meet new people. You're an interesting person with a lot to share with the world, you don't have to be alone, you just gotta stop being so creepy. Try asking people to be your friend instead of forcing them" He leaned over and patted the others back awkwardly as he got up again. "You might be surprised."_

" _Why should I listen to you, Капиталистическая свиней_?  _You are the one who tore them away from me to begin with. I doubt you would be my "friend" hypocrite. Just go away. " As he took another swig from the bottle, but found it sadly empty. Throwing it over his shoulder, he reached inside his coat for another one before he felt a warm hand stop him._

" _If you every stop being a grumpy, sadistic commie, I would. C'mon you don't need that stuff. Let me treat you instead to some pell-meani" His face scrunched as he attempted to pronounce the word correctly offering his hand to the one sitting._

_Really? "It is pronounced Пельмени Comrade." though he accepted the hand up. "Why not your precious hamburgers?"_

" _Pel'meen. Because that's what friends do. They try and appreciate the other's heritage and support them- I'm in Russia, it's your language and your food. Though I love Mc'D's, it would be rude and decidedly against any bro code to refuse such an opportunity"_

" _...try again, you were closer._ _Пельмени_ _" He called me friend, Russia thought_

" _Пельмеи. Was that right?"_

" _Close enough..._ _другу_ _" Huh, it had a nice ring to it..._ _другу._

_~End Flashback~_

Ivan looked up at the others face before reaching up with his free hand (the other had loosened his grip once he stopped struggling) and wiped a tear that ran down his cheek. " Да, America. I will back you. That is what friends do, yes? Though my сестра better be safe or we will have...a problem."

He didn't need an answer as a pair of strong arms threw themselves around his neck. "Да. Благодарю вас Россия! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you." America felt like dancing in relief, it would be a lot easier to protect the others against nearly two hundred potential threats with Russia by his side. He grabbed both sides of Ivan's face and brought it up, kissing both cheeks (he had French influence in too) before collapsing onto the other, shoulders shaking in relief.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, each enjoying the comfort the other brought, (though Ivan was more stunned at Alfred's display of affection) in a small bubble of peace, away from the overwhelming situation.

Until it was popped abruptly.

"Mes petits, would you mind if I joined you?" a voice purred from the doorway.

"NO!" "нет!" The two jumped up.

Pouting, the French man nodded "Fine. I have come to tell you that mon petit chou has regained consciousness and will be telling  _everything_." Turning around he mused loudly enough to be heard "Or else he will find that l'Entente Cordiale is off and we shall have another one hundred years on our hands, non?

"Wait...when did Artie lose consciousness?"

"He could not handle the gloriousness that is me and passed out."

"No...really."

"It is a natural reaction when your lungs are unable to expand properly. Honhonhon~

Haha. He'd never seen France as really dangerous but here he was getting to see a small glimpse of the Empire France, it almost gave him chills. Almost, he was the hero after all.

Wait a second. "You suffocated him by hugging him to death?"

...

..

.

"Never underestimate l'amour~."

Unconsciously the American shied away from the Frenchman.

* * *

After several hours of discussion with the others, it was decided that the Brits and France would open the four gates they had found on their side and try to find the fifth whereas America and Russia were delegated to (thanks guys) attempting to figure out what had happened in Germany and what was going on with the others. If nothing else could be figured out, they had booked one of the conference rooms in New York in the UN building from February 8th until March so that they could solve the issue without being kicked out.

* * *

Katyusha sighed, it had been nearly three weeks since they had been separated and despite numerous search attempts, they had yet to find a trace of the others.

Which was maddening.

Yet there was not much that they could do about it, except wait. They had gone back the trail and had done their best to leave signs of their presence and which way they had gone through flags, stones and posts. Though nothing was guaranteed to remain at the mountain peaks.

Turning her attention back to her comrades, she smiled as she smelt the delicious stew that Romano and Steven were making and felt somewhat at peace, which was shattered soon enough.

A whistling sound was all the warning that they had before three armoured figures appeared before them, all wearing masks.

The one farthest to the left was a man, short, with shoulder length brown-gold hair. Around his neck were hundreds of golden pendants, each gleaming as they caught the sunlight. He wore black pants, a crimson tunic of five plies with a golden belt which had a long golden hand-and-a-half sword hanging from it. In his right hand he held a strong yew javelin and in his left, a crimson shield with a bronze rim. Cast about his shoulder has a great green cloak, fastened at his great neck by a golden broach adorned by many jewels. Strangely though he appeared to be glowing red and let off a small amount of steam.

The one beside him was a man of medium height holding before him a great bronze shield and which had all manner of things carved into it, displaying at the centre the earth, the heavens, the sea's water, the tireless sun, the moon wax into her fullness, and all the constellations that graced the heavens. Surrounding that great beauty were two great cities of mortals, one at peace, the other at war while they in turn had the cycles of the harvest encompassing them in three sections. There were the great ploughs turning up the darkened earth, then backs of men bent in the reaping of the golden grain and binding them together and thirdly there were the great vineyards, vines heavy with grapes. Surrounding these scenes were even more carvings of dance, cattle and sheep while a great river went around the river. A great bronze helmet with a crest of horse hair adorned his head and a strong bronze chest plate covered a leather jerkin. Bronze greaves covered strong calves, and a xiphos (short sword) hung from a belt while the warrior's hand free of the shield held a mighty dory (spear).

The last figure was also male with short golden brown hair and was covered in a simple green tunic with great leather arm bands on either of his fore-arms covered by gold lacquer of intricate designs. On top of the tunic, thickened leather plates covered the shoulders and upper torso along with at the his joints at his legs, covering the pants he wore, these too had delicate patterns pressed into them of gold. Hanging from his belt were a two short swords and a throwing axe. He carried a fairly small (in comparison to his companion's) round wooden shield on his back by it's strap, almost like a backpack.

The masks they wore were made of a dark wood and had deep, jagged patterns carved into them where red and white dye had been added giving them an otherworldly and terrifying appearance.

Without a doubt, these three were deadly.

Even without seeing their faces Steven recognized the Celt Cú Chulainn from his Uncle Anerien's stories just as Romano recognized the Argive Achilles from the tales Grandfather Roma used to tell him but none of the three could identify the third figure.

All of this was determined in a few seconds because upon spotting them, the three men shifted immediately to attack mode, Achilles charging at Katyusha who already had her trident at the ready (or hayfork if you prefer) and was already growing in stature as she drew on her ведмідь for strength as the two of the clashed. Steven immediately had to go on the defensive as the one with the short swords attacked him, stepping smoothly from one attack to the next, barely even having had time to draw his own weapon, a hand-and-a-half sword. In comparison the fight between Cú Chulainn and Romano might seem rather passive as they were just circling one another, every now and then darting in as both were just fighting with a spear.

* * *

The sounds of the brass resounding against the similarly made hayfork was astounding, especially as with each block both would attempt to get under the other's defences with a kick or punch. This back and forth continued until Katyusha again dodged his dory's thrust and instead of parrying it, she jammed the tip of her weapon into the ground. Then rolling with the momentum of her dodge , she drew another weapon from her belt and  _smote_ him in the head with it, leaving the other to stagger backwards from the force of her blow with the brass mace. Giving him no time to recover, she charged forward, grabbing her hayfork again, just as he threw off his helmet and blocked her thrust with his great shield. Their eyes met and hers narrowed.

It was on.

* * *

Lovino had made quick use of his superior speed, dodging in and out of reach though to his annoyance the other always seemed to know just before he hit and managed to parry simply with his spear. Which seemed to be the case this time, except wait. That was not a spear coming to block but rather... Cazzo!

That was right, there was a reason for the metal rim. A shield could be offensive too, was all he thought as he narrowly dodged getting smashed in the face with the shield, though it struck him in the chest instead. Hard. And he flew backwards over several meters though he managed to flip himself around in the air, landing on his feet, weapon at the ready. Huh. That insane training he'd had to go through with the Brits had paid off after all, this Cú Chulainn guy moves very similar to how they do.

With that in mind, he drew further on the power of rabbit and found himself over five meters (16ft-ish) in the air and twirled his spear around and attacked from above, much like Steven had a few weeks earlier. Ha! He'd managed to scratch the bastard at least, though he had managed to roll away and they were now back to circling each other.

Why were he so quiet though, it was creepy, they made yet to make a vocal sound besides harsh breathing. No words, witty banter or taunting that was usually present in fights was gone making it really eerie.

* * *

Steven had at last managed to go somewhat on the offensive, sneaking in a few jabs while parrying, both with his sword and with his fist. His opponent was skilled however and he was having to draw on all of his experience to match him, even Cobber's help and endurance was not much help as he could not go berserk against an opponent like this.

Evenly matched, all three opponents continued to attack one another but managed only to inflict (and receive) minor injuries until Steven stumbled over a rock as he tried to get past the others guard, leaving him open for a second.

But that was all that was needed as one of the two twin blades snaked in to stab at his side.

Steven however twisted so that the blade instead cut across (instead of stabbing it) his abdomen, leaving a deep gash in it's wake though it missed any internal organs as was the original intent. Falling onto his back with a "Oof!", he managed to get his hands up just in time to grab his opponent's wrists to prevent the down swinging blades from making contact with his skin. Their fight had now turned into a deadly contest of strength, what he would not give right now for Kaoru's totem and it's natural armour as he was already tired before this fight had even broken out. He was not sure if he could keep this up.

Looking up into that masked face, he was startled enough to see a pair of dull violet eyes and he breathed out "Matthew?" and he saw a flicker of horror and recognition flit through those eyes just as an enormous *THUMP-FHHH* was heard in the background. Within a few seconds, his opponent was gone as were Achilles and Cú Chulainn, as the trio ran off towards the source of the sound. Looking over they were surprised to see a great fire ball rising up into the air, smoke fountaining into the clouds.

* * *

A few moments later another figure stepped into the clearing. He wore ancient Mesopotamian armour- a bronze chest plate, a shining copper helmet and leather greaves on his calves and leather guards on his forearms - covered by a great heavy armoured cloak. He also carried an enormous leather shield and a spear in his other hand, and in his belt a sickle sword, a small dagger and a bronze socket axe could be seen.

The three of them were immediately on guard again, watching him warily.

 _"Greetings. It is surprising what a little few kegs of flour can do, la?_ " The man chuckled.

 _"Flour did that?"_  asked Katyusha.

_"The Enemy were foolish enough to keep much of it together, there goes one of the outposts. Shame. Anyway, what brings you here, to the Erset La Tari?_

_"Um... we are looking for some friends. We were separated when we were attacked by an enormous party of Windigo. Why are you here? Who are you?"_

_"Who am I? I am Gilgamesh, king of Uruk and one of the leaders of the Resistance."_

_"Resistance?"_  Asked Lovino cautiously.

_"Against the Kashshaptu Morgan Le Fay of course. Care to join us? It is no longer safe in the open"_

After a brief moment's discussion, the trio decided to agree, they might have better luck finding everyone if they could enlist the help of people who were actually familiar with the terrain. But first things first.

_"If we say yes, and come with you, we would like to have proof that you are not on her side."_

At this the man's face twisted into a grimace and before Romano could even blink, he was beside him knife at his throat though in the second after, the Mesopotamian had to blades levelled at his own throat,  _"Because if I were, you would already be dead. Also those under her command have appeared to have lost the ability to speak. So no, I am your ally."_

Attempting to regain his composure, the Italian nodded  _"Molto bene, we would be delighted to accompany you"_

* * *

Gilbert sat there shocked. "West? Lu-Ludwig? Bruder mit mir sprich bitte! B-bitte!" He leaned over and shook him. "Bruder dies ist nicht lustig! Augen auf!...LUDWIG!" He closed his eyes against the tears that threatened to roll down his face

He was gone.

HE WAS DEAD!

This could not be happening.

"G-gil." He looked over and saw Feli lying similarly bloodied further up the river, except he was bleeding out from a stomach wound, judging by the colour of the blood. "F-feli?"

He heard a sudden noise behind him and there was a happy Matthew running up to him, "Gil!" But once he was within arms length he was suddenly engulfed in flames.

"W-wwwhat?" Looking around him he saw now a mound of corpses with the bruised and bloodied faces of Spain, France, Denmark, England, America, among others looking at him accusingly even after their passing. While Brandenburg, Württenberg, Kurfürstentum, Lothringen, Lüneburg and all the other German city-sates before unification stared back at him with glassy eyes. Over there was HRE impaled on some sort of spear and Japan lay there in a bloodied heap right beside a now-dead Italy.

Who could have done this?

"Prussia, you have failed me. What is this about being dissolved? I am so very disappoint-" Friedrich der Große, he turned just as he was about to finish talking and though the words hurt, it was nothing compared to what happened next as his King was cut off when a hand came through his chest, taking the man's heart with it. As Friedrich collapsed, Gilbert saw himself, mad red eyes in hollow features looking back at him with his own shit eating grin plastered across his face.

He could not keep his screams contained as he looked down at his hands and saw them dripping in blood. Around him scenes from his past played, showing his grisly scenes from the World Wars, his dissolution, of his time as Teutonic Knight and more.

He barely even registered his other self charging at him, bloody hands outstretched for his throat.

* * *

Lars was irritated.

Actually, scratch that, he was furious.

That _geestelijke defecte illusies Duitse!_ What did that stupid loser think he was doing running off in the dark like that? Especially as he just started screaming. Where was that shithead? He would kill him himself for running off like that.

He finally managed to stumble into the same cave that Gilbert had run off to, he stopped right at the entrance, seeing Gilbert throw himself backwards into a wall. What was the idiot playing at? About to step forward, he paused at seeing the wild look in the others eyes along with the tears streaming down his cheeks, he looked almost like a trapped animal. He lunged forwards, teeth bared, sword in hand and proceeded to get into some of the strangest air-sparring Lars had ever seen. When Prussia was again thrown backwards, Lars this time saw a deep gash appear on his cheek.

That was it, he stepped forward into the lit cave and was startled by the immediate change. The cave seemed to grow and became considerable more sinister. Upon noticing that Prussia had disappeared and was replaced by a bloodied Habsburg Spain drawing out his sword from his sister's body, he quickly stepped backwards and the images disappeared.

He immediately figured out Gilbert's strange actions; the other was seeing some sort of distressing illusions - which he was admittedly rather curious about the content for he had never seen the former empire look like this. Looking around, he saw some sort of exit lying on the other side so in taking a deep breath. He shut his eyes and ran forward, grabbing Gilbert around the middle and ran to the other side. He ignored to the best of his abilities Romano's screams, Belgium's cries for mercy, the sounds of swords hitting flesh, of Luxemburg crying, moans and pleas of his people during the Hunger Winter and and and...and they were out.

The effect was immediate, the sounds were gone as were the images he guessed as he put Prussia down, leaning him against the wall.

Prussia had stopped struggling as his worst nightmare vanished, and as he snapped out of it and his eyes re-focused, he looked around wildly before he saw Lars.

"WHAT the FUCK was THAT?"

"To be honest, I have no clue. Don't run off like that again though, I get the feeling that this is not all these caverns can throw at us. Out of curiosity, what did you see?"

"...To sum up. Hell."

"...Okay then."

A few moments of quiet before he continued.

"C'mon. Let's keep going. We can't go back so we're gonna have to keep moving forward. The sooner we get out here, the better." He got up and offered his hand to the shaken Prussian who just stared at it "and if it makes you feel any better, think of it this way. None of that was real." Holding up a hand "None of it. I couldn't see anything it that cave besides you until I stepped into that weird light."

"Even if it wasn't, it felt so  _real_. I feel like a little kid, helpless and unable to do anything besides watch them bleed out."

 _Bleed out? Hmmm._ "...Well if you are a little kid, then I can do this." The Dutch giant crouched down in front of him and gave him a great hug. After a few moments, Gilbert responded, clinging to other like he was a life line. "I saw... everything from the Wars, what it might have looked if they had succeeded, saw my time at Russia. I saw Matthew burst into flames and scream as he was swallowed by the fire. I saw Feliciano writhe and shriek as he tried to keep his intestines in his body, I saw Arthur screaming on the ground during the bombings. Mein Gott. I saw West. West all covered in blood and I was helpless. There was a great mound..."

 _I should stop him there, he's shaking really badly._ "Shhh. It's okay. We understand that in wars, we must follow our bosses whether we like it or not. We all survived in some form or another over the years and not one of us truly blames you for it. As for the rest, they never even happened in addition to not being real and we will make damned sure that it will not happen, 'k?" The Dutchman rubbed circles into the back of the other. He couldn't imagine having to see all of his dark history laid out in front of him and those he cared about murdered, It was almost lucky for him that Gilbert had run ahead or else the two of them might have been trapped.

"Feel better?"

"..Yeah. Thanks."

Giving the other his hand again, the two wandered into the tunnel, hand in hand so as to not lose the other again, to whatever the caves could next throw at them.

* * *

Denmark found himself extraordinarily annoyed and confused. The river that he had jumped into had turned into a huge set of rapids and had also forked. He found himself being quickly swept through a series of watery catacombs which ultimately shot out into a waterfall, leading to what appeared to be an ocean. His body hurt from being slammed repeatedly into rocks and other underwater projectiles.

He was confused as to where the hell he was, as there were no mountains in sight and he was annoyed (and worried) as could not find Feliciano or Ludwig anywhere.

Changing fully into his whale form, he began combing the ocean, looking for the pair, diving as deep as he could only surfacing once his lungs started to scream for air.

Where were they?

On his forth day of searching he happened across something he did not expect, though it was not his two missing friends.

"Halløj! This is a sirprise! It's you guys!" though as he shouted this, it came out just as a stream of bubbles. What did he expect when he tried to talk when he was 270 meters under water (900ft ish) and in the shape of a whale?

* * *

_*Hero by skillet_

* * *

**AN- The grand entrance of France and of Russia! (Hopefully did them justice). The descriptions for the mythological heroes I just did my best to keep to the original style after summarizing the passages I needed (the one for Achilles was looong). Also, I don't want the characters to just be 2-dimensional and I did my best to write them as people (especially for that one section), did I succeed?**

* * *

_Translations_ (I just seem to be looking up insults half the time now.)

 _mon petit Mathieu_ (French- my little Matthew)

 _Ruski-_ (Not so positive slang for a Russian person though isn't really an insult either)

 _Капиталистическая свиней._ _{_ _Kapitalisticheskaya svinyeĭ_ _}_ (Russian- Capitalist swine)

 _Пельмени_ _{Pelʹmeni}_ (Russian- Pelmeni. Tasty pastry dumplings filled typically with meatballs)

 _другу_ _{drugu}_ (Russian- friend)

 _сестра {sestra}_ (Russian- sister)

 _Благодарю вас Россия {Blagodaryu vas Rossiya!}_ (Russian- Thank you Russia)

 _Mes petits_ (French- My little ones)

 _entente cordiale_ (French- agreement in 1904 between France and UK resolving colonial issues and such and put an end to the centuries of conflict between the two, promising peace, ending the feud)

 _ведмідь_ \- (Ukrainian- Bear)

 _Cazzo –_  (Italian- Fuck)

 _la-_ (Sumerian- no)

 _Erset La Tari_ \- (Sumerian Land of No Return)

 _Kashshaptu_  (Sumerian- Witch)

 _Molto Bene_ (Italian- Very well)

 _Bruder mit mir sprich bitte!_ (German- Brother speak to me please)

 _Bruder dies ist nicht lustig!_ (German- Brother, this is not funny)

 _Augen auf_ (German- Open your eyes)

 _geestelijke defecte illusies Duitse_ (Dutch- mental defective fool German)

 _halløj!_ (Danish- hey!/hello!: used to attract someone's attention)

* * *

**Again I got these of occult type websites so there might be some variation and some of it might seem illogical. Sorry.**

**Alfred – Eagle tends to represents sacrifice (especially for someone they love), renewal or rebirth, courage, freedom, choices, strength in spirit, belief, taking chances, uncertainty, independence, and risk taking**

**Matthew- Wolf tends to represent faithfulness/loyalty to friends and family, quiet listener, social requirements/needs, protection, perseverance, pathfinder (give guidance), hidden strength and loyalty**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN- I hope all the language parts are correct, I did my best to make them accurate (cross referenced everything I could), if they are not, I would love to be corrected.**

**Small refresher- Bruce is Scotland, Pat is South Ireland, Aneiren is Wales, Kathleen is Northern Ireland.**

**I do not own Hetalia or anything else referenced in these, only the plot.**

* * *

Things were not going so good for America and Russia in their mission. The earthquake in Germany had no natural causes, as had been previously stated by America's boss and had been confirmed by their own research. There was no shift in Tectonic plates or eruption of nearby volcanoes. Nothing. Meaning that, as Kathleen had predicted, something had happened to Ludwig as Germany for the land to sink 2 inches (5cm) which was only confirmed by it only happening to the West portion.

They had also made no other progress on their other goal of finding out what was causing all the other nations to become so suddenly aggressive and dangerous. It had nothing to do with their nations, their economy and political scene was generally fine, their currencies as well, there was no sort of epidemic affecting their populations, no cults, terrorists or extreme nationalists that were that widespread at least. There were no similarities between cases on the nation front, so it had to be coming from the individual. So pouring over every medical text they could get their hands on (and they went pretty damn far back), they were unable to find any sort of disease that met all signs and symptoms. In fact, there were not many diseases that had among their symptoms:  _urge to kill rising_. In despiration, America had even asked Tony who would obviously not know much about Earth diseases but he also had no idea.

Instead, their lack of progress simply made it clear what they already knew, gave them a map as to how it all happened and added more names to the affected list:

First to get this mysterious plague was Turkey. Despite numerous attempts to discern the circumstances, they could not for the life of them figure out what he had done because apparently he was healthy/happy one minute next minute was all  _I'm going to destroy the world_! There was nothing to indicate what could cause such a change.

After him, Greece and Japan were the next to show symptoms. Same went for them symptom wise and for all who followed.

Following Japan's visit to China's house, China, Tibet, Mongolia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand all fell ill as well.

Then as Greece and Turkey began to fight (despite their governments attempts to calm them down) and Greece returned to his own house Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Albania also seemed to catch the sickness.

A few days following Turkey's visit to their countries on his way back to his place from Japan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Iran, Azerbaijan, Lebanon and Georgia also all began to act oddly.

After them, soon after that Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Sri Lanka were acting highly aggressive after diplomatic/familial visits to some of the aforementioned. At the same time, Myanmar (Burma), Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal just began to exhibit some of the symptoms after discussions with some of the Asian nations.

Following them, to the South-East were Papua New Guinea, The Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Palau and Nauru who snapped. In Africa around the same time, Somalia and Ethiopia along with Libya and Tunsieia also began trying to instigate warfare – and even worse, the four different nations appeared to have gotten it from two different points or Sudan and Chad would be similarly affected. Which they presently weren't. Slovakia, Moldova, Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were also beginning to act strange, though they were not yet full blown cases of what the America and Russia were now calling BID (Belligerent Insomniac Disease).

America felt like smacking his head against a wall as the results of their research slowly came together.

Those affected, however, was not the worst of their concerns. No it was that:

A. It was spreading.

B. It was also affecting the sick's provinces, districts, counties and what-have-you

C. The speed at which the "symptoms" were being seen, it was growing and spreading  _exponentially_.

D. Russia was now surrounded by these BID cases- he could be next and they did NOT need the Russki going crazy again.

This had begun not even a month ago and already could be considered an epidemic as only South America, North America, about ¾ of Africa, Russia, New Zealand, the Nordics, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, UK, Luxembourg, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and France who remained unaffected (plus the 12 MIA nations). Meaning that about half the world had barely controlled aggression and wanted to attack each other at the slightest fault. Though luckily it had not begun to affect their citizens through them and they did not appear able to catch it, which was the only actual good news they had gathered yet.

Furthermore, the names above were just the infected cases they were certain of, on their list of the okay nations, over half of them they had been unable to contact like Finland, Hungary, Austria, Argentina, Chile and Cuba. The last three were especially concerning to Alfred as they had last be seen visiting someone who was now termed "infected" and could bring or already brought whatever it is back to the Americas (continents).

Fuck.

This just kept getting better and better and they only had four more days until the eighth were they were going to try and have a world meeting, meaning  _everyone_ would be attending. How were they going to prevent everyone from getting sick?

And just what was making them sick?

* * *

_"Halløj! This is a surprise! It's you guys!"_

Denmark was overjoyed. He had not seen Kraken or the Iku-Turso since the end of his Viking days, did that mean that the Leviathon or Yacumama or the Loch Ness Monster were floating around here somewhere too? That would be fun if it were true. Perhaps this time he could convince them to band together with him to create havoc...

So much fun to be had, to bad he actually had a job to do.

Going back up to the surface, he went back to his normal form and quickly found himself being thrown around by some of the Kraken's tentacles as the sea monster expressed his joy in finding his old friend.

Because yes, he and the Kraken were BFF's (he was only vague acquaintances with Iku-Turso, though Finland would be happy to know the bugger was alive and kicking). They had met waaaaaaaay back, just a little before the Golden Age of the Vikings, so mid-7th century or so? Something like that. They had destroyed ships together, pillaged then gotten drunk together. His buddy had vanished though sometime at the beginning of the scientific and industrial revolution. Well, Kathleen did mention that the two worlds had been separated around then in one of her lectures so it made sense.

Anyway, since then he'd been really protective of his friend's legacy – He'd even threatened America after that one Pirate movie had "killed" the great ship slayer.

Too bad Norge had confiscated his axe for weeks after that.

No, he was not whipped, his boyfriend just had invisible troll fiends to make his beloved axe impossible to ever find.

Cutting off his mental rambling before he could get any weirder, he turned his attention back to the giant octopus type creature that was surfacing and gave the tentacle holding him up a hug.

"Kammerat! How have you been? Hows the food here? Good? Any beer?"

After several moments of what appeared to be a one sided conversation (though they both understood each other), Matthias brought up the reason he was out in the middle of the ocean to begin with. Sadly neither the Kraken or (after a moment's discussion) the Iku-Turso had seen Feli or Ludwig but both sea monsters offered their help in return for ten barrels each of mead upon Denmark's successful return to his world. This he swore to do upon his axe and viking past, something both creatures knew he took seriously and the deal was sealed.

However, it turned out that even sea monsters could not see everything after a few fruitless weeks of searching and once again, when it got to dark for them to really see, they began heading towards a nearby island.

Mathias was beginning to lose hope as it had been days since their separation...were the other two even alive? No, do not think such things!

However this train of thought was cut off when the three of them heard a great racket coming from the other side of the mountain. So, just in case the source of the noise was hostile, the three ducked under the surface so the frigid waters again and swam to investigate.

* * *

_Ngg. Mis Testa._

_Quanto ho bevuto?_

North Italy slowly opened his eyes _,_ hmm. This wasn't his room.

_Where am I?_

The room was a turquoise blue with plants everywhere, some even coming in through the window.

Wait a second, there was water everywhere.

_My God._

Everything came back in a rush and there was suddenly a very panicked Feliciano flailing about in the room as he attempted to orient himself and find Ludwig.

Ludwig.

_I need him to be alright. God help me if he is not._

The last thing he remembered was catching up to his German and breaking from his totem to wrap his arms protectively around him. It was his turn to protect the other after all those times in World War Two, it was his turn to keep him safe.

He had taken the hits from the rocks as the bounced off the rocky river banks and went through rapids, he got in air and shared it with Ludwig, trying to keep him alive. Eventual they were pushed out by the current into an ocean, and try as he might, he was unable to get back to shore. This was due to a few things, one- the water was rough, meaning large waves  _and a strong undertow_ ; two- as he was already exhausted from earlier, he was having trouble fighting against the undertow and current and three- towing his friend while doing that was a bit too much to ask from the lithe Italian even with help from his totem.

So instead he found himself being dragged out to sea.

Thinking quickly, knowing that he was completely exhausted and swimming wasn't really an option, he managed to pull on the little bit of magic he had and created an air platform with a rope attached and got Ludwig up on it. This way he could swim as a dolphin, pulling the platform along and get his lover to safety as quickly as possible.

Things however did not go to plan as as soon as the Italian had gotten him up there, he realized one crucial detail,  _his chest was not rising_. Yup. He double checked. Shit. Even worse, he was not breathing and his heart had stopped. Completely. Legally, he was dead.

 _Vaffanculo_ _, merda e Dio Mannaggia_.

Well, he wasn't going to take that lying down, his body was still warm and had yet to stiffen (though he was ashamed he had not noticed sooner), he could revive him. Clambering up beside him, the fatigued personification began doing CPR. Two breathes, landmark up the ribs, both hands on sternum, one on top of the other, elbows locked straight and begin thirty compressions. Two breathes, repeat. He kept going for five cycles before Feliciano thought of something.

Placing one hand just a bit below Ludwig's left pectoral and the other up near the right side ,just below his collarbone, he proceeded to summon some electricity (somewhere between 120-200 joules) and ran it between his hands for less then a millisecond. He was a human defibrillator. Immediately after, he felt like he was going to pass out but summoning reserves of energy he didn't know he possessed, he continued CPR for another five cycles before using electricity again.

There.

A slight beat which slowly returned with a vengeance as the German took a shuddering breath. Smiling in joy and crying in relief, Feliciano felt himself slowly tip backwards as his body gave in to exhaustion and pitched into the murky depths.

That was where his memory of the night ended and, understandably, he was panicked about Ludwig as, when he passed out, his spell would have dissipated as well, leaving the German to pitch into the water. Running around the room, he attempted to find a door but there was not a one. Wait, he was underwater, a window could be a door, he could just swim over and...how was he breathing? Oh Mio Dio _._ Mio Dio MioDio miodiomiodiomiodio. Hyperventilating was never good – it leads to being lightheaded,weak, confused and *Thunk* unconsciousness.

When Feliciano woke the second time, he was back in the bed and this time his one foot was tied to the post and opened his eyes to see a concerned looking face gazing back at him.

Upon seeing him awake, she gave him a sharp tooth grin and beckoned to some unknown person another over. Helping him sit up, she then rearranged and propped him up his pillows. He then saw two other people in the room. The first lady who helped him looked somewhat Asian though she had the mouth of a monkey and sharp, pointed teeth in addition to long, black, flowing hair. Her tail flashed gold behind her as she righted herself do that she was in a seated position before she spoke, her voice sounding like a flute:

" _You had us scared little one."_

He remembered tales by the campfire when they were trapped on that island for Christmas, she was one of Japan's stories, a Ningyo. The one beside her, he wasn't so sure of, she had dark skin, long, wooly hair, a enormous gap-toothed smile and didn't have a tail but rather had fins on her hands and feet. Cameroon had mentioned a similar being during one of their football matches, a Jengu perhaps then?

The last one he was sure of though, she was an Undine. She looked human, she was beautiful with long dark hair, bottomless eyes, pale bluish skin, long, delicate hands but there was still despite the grace in her movements, her strength and otherworldly qualities were evident.

As they fussed over him, got him some food and such they explained what had happened.

First off, Ludwig survived and was fine. He had been up days prior to Feli and would be in the room if the physicians had not confined him to his own bed and rooms. As being dead for those few minutes, there had been some damage and he was having to recover his coordination among other things so until he could move around for more then ten minutes without needing to rest or collapsing, he would not be able to visit Feli.

Other things were he and Ludwig were presently guests in one of the few non-conquered mer-cities still in existence, each staying in an extra room of some kindhearted citizen's house. His actions and efforts to save Germany did not go unnoticed by a pod of passing encantado who had felt a certain kinship to the Italian and had decided to help and had rescued them. It was by their magic that he and Ludwig were temporarily able to breath underwater.

Requesting that he too stay in his room as they did not want him to collapse again so soon after having already pushed his body and magic nearly too far once a few days prior and it would be a while before he was recovered.

He had no shortage of visitors, he met one of the kappas that he had seen before in Japan's house, in addition to several mermaids/mermen, encantado, jengu, kappa, ningyo, selkies and naiads who came so that he'd have someone to talk to or check on his injuries or feed him.

He hoped everyone else was doing better then he and Ludwig were doing.

After about a week, his doctor decided it would be okay for him to leave his room and to go see Ludwig. He could have hugged the man if he weren't already halfway across the room, heading for the window exit. Laughing, the fishman got him to wait until a guide could be brought forth to make sure he didn't get lost. Soon enough one of the selkies with long brown hair and wide eyes with her fur skin draped around her appeared and led him out the window and through the winding streets of the city.

At one point they passed a grotesque stooped man smoking a pipe. He had, pale green skin, a long tangled green-black beard and long hair covered in swamp muck, algae and seaweed, gills and webbed fingers. He wore a large patchy coat and several layers of shirts and pants, making him appear vagrant. He was surrounded by several porcelain teacups, marking him a vodyanoy. Looking up he leered at the lithe Italian whose flee instincts immediately kicked in and took off, leaving his guide behind. She had had to resume her fully formed seal shape to catch up with him in order to turn him around and get him to where is companion was staying.

Upon entering the room and seeing his companion asleep, he said a quiet farewell to his guide and curled up in a ball beside his first friend turned boyfriend.

 _It was time for a siesta~_  he thought as he closed his eyes...

_And he opened them in a wide field of gold. He knew this scenery, he and Holy Roman Empire had come here often before he had gone away to paint or talk or escape Austria's wrath. Then, centuries later, he had brought Germany to this same place and they had had picnics, trained and enjoyed each others company. Knowing he had again accidentally walked into Ludwig's dream, he immediately set out to find the other and found him laying in the tall grass, he then quietly sat beside the other and they began to discuss what their plan was- in finding the others and Matthew-much like they had when they first became friends._

A few days after that, they were both deemed safe to travel again and so, saying goodbye to their hosts, they borrowed a Hippocamp for Germany and Feliciano swam beside his encantado friends who were showing him all sorts of tricks and things he could do in his dolphin form. Upon reaching the surface, they said their goodbyes and began to leisurely swim towards land.

As night fell, the light of the stars and the two moons kept the ocean sufficiently lit, so they continued to swim, though they could have headed to one of the small islands that were to the side. It was peaceful.

However, around midnight, they heard several voices carried by the wind singing an old, lilting song, and as more words could clearly be heard Ludwig immediately facepalmed. He knew the song well enough, it had been popular enough among his own people as it had been translated from Dutch, though he had no clue  _why_  it was so popular, the song was beyond strange.

_Al die willen te kaap'ren varen  
_ _Moeten mannen met baarden zijn_

_Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel_  
Die hebben baarden, die hebben baarden  
Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel  
Die hebben baarden, zij varen mee

_Al die ranzige tweebak lusten  
Moeten mannen met baarden zijn_

_Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel_  
Die hebben baarden, die hebben baarden  
Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel  
Die hebben baarden, zij varen mee

_Al die deftige pijpkens smoren  
Moeten mannen met baarden zijn_

_Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel_  
Die hebben baarden, die hebben baarden  
Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel  
Die hebben baarden, zij varen mee

_Al die met ons de walrus killen  
Moeten mannen met baarden zijn_

_Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel_  
Die hebben baarden, die hebben baarden  
Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel  
Die hebben baarden, zij varen mee

_Al die dood en duivel niet duchten  
Moeten mannen met baarden zijn_

Shortly after the last line, from around the closest island came a great Dutch man o' war, soaring through the skies, a glowing hue about it. Awed by the sight of a ship flying about a foot above the water, neither noticed that the ship was dragging some nets in the water and soon found themselves entangled as the nets were hoisted upward with some fish and them.

Flopping down onto the deck, they quickly tried to untangle themselves but instantly stilled when cutlasses were pointed in their direction so they just listened to the rapid Dutch and the common language could be heard around them, the occasional word made clear.

_"Verduiveld!..Came out of nowhere...Go get...Captain... _Throw them to the sharks_...Meerman...bizarre... scared all the fish...ugly...plank..."_

At last, above the commotion a great voice roared  _"Enough! Silence or I will have you keelhauled before the night is out! Now what is all the ruckus about?"_  Striding into the circle that had formed around the unfortunate duo, a man wearing a great burgundy waistcoat, beige breeches, white stockings, leather shoes, a red sash around his middle and a loose white shirt and upon his head was a leather tricorne. See the two intruders, he promptly snarled  _"What business do have being on the ship of Captain Van der Decken?"_

Der Fliegende Holländer, wasn't this just their luck. Not only did they have to end up in this world to begin with (albeit for good reason), nearly killed by vampires, attacked by several hundreds of mythological creatures, seperated from everyone else and drowned but they had to meet a sadistic pirate too!

This train of thought was cut off as they heard a great cry come from the port side and a figure came flying through the air and landed in a crouch right in front of the trapped Germany and Italy, slamming the axe he was carrying deep into wood.

Straightening he turned as he said

"Halløj! You guys miss me?"

Denmark. Of course as a member of the Awesome trio, he had to make a big entrance. Oh well, both Ludwig and Feliciano were perfectly okay with it.

Turning back to the pirates who were just recovering from their shock he said  _"So, if it's quite all right with you, me and my two friends will take these two of your hands."_  Just as he said "friends" a shadow fell upon the deck as the Kraken and Iku-Turso rose up from the water and made their presence known.  _"No protests? Excellent. We'll be off then."_ Cutting both Feliciano and Ludwig free of the net, they quickly made their escape.

* * *

Upon escaping the nightmare cave, Netherlands and Prussia then walked intro a small sign in the middle of the walkway with the words "Stay on the Path" carved into it. Gilbert insisted that they follow the instruction as he knew the potential consequences of breaking a taboo. In most tales from Prussia's and other Germanics culture, it involved a pretty gruesome ending. Wishing to avoid being turned into something, catching on fire or something equally unpleasant, Lars agreed. So they had managed to do so despite the fact they still had no light source due to the path being lined with some faintly glowing rock so they could tell where it was.

Despite this good bit of fortune, they had been wandering around through the labyrinth-like system and had nothing but a few nicks and some more physiological wounds then they would like to admit. They had run into illusions that made it appear that they were outside and back home and it had taken them over an hour to get out of each. Then there was the one that brought one of their worst memories to life: Gilbert saw everyone he cared about turn their backs to him and felt his dissolution over and over again. Lars on the other hand watched as his country was taken over and torn apart, as the wide tulip fields and earth were ruined and buildings burned until nothing was left.

All in all, the two agreed that that one was worse then the your-worst-nightmare-cave.

Then in addition to the illusion caves, there were physically harmful like the booby-trapped ones or just plain dangerous ones. There were other caverns though where nothing terrible popped out but were rather images of temptation. They were sparkling with precious jewels and metals or had precious lost items littered on the ground. Then there were the...seduction caves for lack of better description. Happily for the two, though they left with bright red ears and blushes on their faces, the other could not see what they saw. Though this didn't stop both of them from not looking the other in the eyes for quite a long time.

Each time though, (with quite a bit of effort) they managed to ignore these images and survive the traps, which leads them to their present situation.

"I HATE these FUCKING caves!"

Gilbert's cry echoed around in the blackness of the stone walls.

They had just left a cave filled with their favourite foods with a river of beer running through it. Remembering the sign (barely), they had ignored it but that set of illusions was particularly hard to turn away from, making it all the more perilous to the two. Neither had had the opportunity to drink the delicious beverage in years or eat more then dried jerky since they had entered this infernal place. Though on the other hand, it was a good thing they hadn't strayed when they looked back and they saw the cleverly hidden pit of spikes that ran alongside the entire path. So if they went towards the food, they would be dead in seconds.

Still.

Needless to say they were NOT happy campers.

This did not change in the next cave where they were met with illusions of weather. The problem with illusions is that, if the mind can be even slightly tricked into believing that it is real, it has the same effect as though it were. With every step they found themselves besieged first by extreme heat then extreme cold, followed by torrents of rain, blankets of fog, hail and more. It was only once they got halfway across that things got particularly nasty. When a tornado flung Lars across the cave, it took all of Gil's ability to manipulate the wind to keep him from landing off the path. Especially when he saw the war hammer in the Dutch man's belt slip out and land on the ground, where it immediately dissolved as if acid was poured on it. Lars returned the favour when the cave flooded and Gilbert was nearly swept away. It was by using the speed of his otter form in water that the two reached the other side before say... an earthquake struck them.

The next cave in both of their opinions was by far the worst. It was not emotionally painful like the nightmare cave or the worst moments in your history one, nor was it mind-fucking like the one with food or the one where inanimate objects came to life nor physically painful like when they had had to fight themselves, wade a acid filled cave or survive the trap cave.

No, this one here was not tempting or damning, it was peaceful.

Which made them worried.

Lars saw time spent with his two sisters on a sunny day in his wide tulip fields, enjoying a picnic and each others company, long before politics came in to complicate things. He had his pipe, some good leaf and the warm sun shining on him. There was no Spain lording over his FIFA victory or Indonesia coming to harass him. There was no one around but his siblings, good food, beautiful scenery and other such pleasant things.

Gilbert saw a day when he had gone to go drinking with Spain and France but instead had been waylaid by a group of nations and found himself in a karaoke place with not only Spain and France, but his entire living family also came: Germany (he was surprised too), Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary and the best thing was he actually had a decent time as no blood was spilt or rivalries mentioned. Just time with his family and with his friends-North Italy, Belgium, Japan, Australia, Denmark, New Zealand and Canada- doing something that had nothing to do with nationhood. It was the most fun that he had had since the last  _honourable_ war back when he still felt useful.

It was like it was setting them up for something, but they continued through unimpeded, though, they left this one considerably slower then they had the others, staring at those images longingly.

As they wandered through the next few caverns, there were a few bobby traps but nothing severe, but since leaving the pleasant memory caves the two were beginning to feel horribly depressed and that their efforts in attempting to escape this awful place were in vain. It was such a gradual process, that neither realized until Lars curled up in a ball on the ground, put his head on his knees and gave up too the despair he'd been feeling. Gilbert felt tempted to join him and scream that he hated life but he realized that that would be  _so-not-awesome_ and not at all like him because he was, well, awesome! Just then out of the corner of his eye, he saw a round shiny rock far behind them slowly inch forward. Remembering one of Katyusha's tales, he thought to himself  _Porlock_.

So, he dashed forward and kicked it as hard as he could, sending it flying through the air – hearing a high pitched cry of Iiiieeeeeee! As he did so – giving it distance that even one of die DFB-Elf (Deutsche Nationalmannschaft) would be proud of.

As it sailed away through the air, the two could immediately feel the difference. It was like a great cloud had been lifted of of their shoulders and they could breathe again.

Stupid demon.

Meeting each others' eyes, there was a silent agreement not to mention that they could have just been devoured by a foot tall Russian demon who stalks people, pretends to be a rock if you turn around and manipulates emotions to create despair and depression.

Cause THAT would be a lame way to go (and they'd never hear the end of it from Ivan)

The next cave they entered was pitch black and the lights that had illuminated the sides of the path went out too. Which was worrisome as to how they would stay on the wandering path.

Gilbert grabbed Lars hand and used his sword as a long cane (blind people use them) to trace the edges of the path. Which worked for a while but neither realized that the roof of the cave angled downward until Lars – being taller– once again walked into a stalactite. As he attempted to regain his balance, it didn't occur to him that he was still holding onto Gilbert. This then resulted in the Prussian being yanked backwards and falling which sent his impromptu cane (sword) went flying.

"Scheisse!" He promptly hissed from the ground as Lars said "Sorry Gil"

Finding the edge of the path, he got the Netherlands to grab his belt and help him lean over without getting off the path. Fingers just barely avoiding skirting the surface of the ground he searched for the hilt where he heard the blade fall. Feeling a blade sticking straight up, he reached upward until he was able to grasp the hilt and pull it out from where it was wedged. Just as he did that, suddenly several steam geysers went off, one burning his hand. Gasping in pain, he accidentally did the unthinkable and placed his burnt and bloody hand on the rock where he found his sword.

It glowed briefly and ancient runes were illuminated but neither noticed as Lars found that he was suddenly supporting all of Gilbert's weight as the other instantly passed out and managed to get him back on the path. Carrying the unconscious Prussian was no easy feat while using the sword as a long cane, yet he managed as he continued along the path, stooped.

Reaching the exit of this one, he cautiously stepped through and was delighted to again see the lights, though they ran around the perimeter of the cavern but after a few moments of observation, was frustrated as he could not see a door. When no illusions attacked his senses and he could not see an immediate danger, Lars decided it might be a good idea to rest. Something neither had gotten much of these past few days... or was it weeks? Meh. Though he could not sleep until Gilbert was awake again which was several hours later.

* * *

Once the two were both well rested, they searched every inch of the cave, looking for some sort of exit, not particularly wanting to go back through. Exhausted, they collapsed again on the ground. There was no exit, they would have to go back. At least that's what they thought until an oak red door suddenly appeared, floating in the cave.

When it did not immediately disappear, they got up and approached it. Gently opening the door, they were surprised to took out into a completely different place which was an interior of a tower with a great winding staircase, with doors much like the one they were presently looking through lining it. Realizing it was either go through or go back, they cautiously stepped through...

And was promptly rammed into by a small body running up the stairs.

Sitting on the two adults, rubbing his head, was a young boy of no more then ten with green hair, a green lion's tail and green oversized leopard spotted ears. He wore soft leather clothes in addition to a small furred cape (making it look like he had a mane) with a small dagger in his belt and a mask hanging from the side.

" _Owwww~"_

Stunned for a moment, Lars then piped up  _"um...You okay kid?"_

A brief pause before the kid realized that not only was he sitting on someone but, rather, two someones and scrambled to get off  _"Yeah, Imma okay. Sorry fer bumping inta you."_

" _It's okay... Say do you know where we are? My friend and I are quite lost, a door just appeared in front of us and because we had no better options, we went through. By the way I'm Gilbert, this is Lars."_

" _No sorry, I don'. The same happened to me, the door appearing out of nowhere thing. I'm...Mish. D-Do you maybe wanna be lost together?"_

Looking at the embarrassed kid, eyes downcast and fingers twiddling together, the two nations came to an immediate decision

" _Of course"_ they said simultaneously.

And that was what they did, they walked all the way up thousands of stairs until they nearly reached the top, realizing there was nothing but more doors ahead, they began to try them, one leading into a barren desert, another into some sort of crystallized room, one a into a destroyed village and yet another desolate mountain cave (though they though they saw some dragon scales). It was after this one that they opened a maple wood door and came upon a forest, all three of them feeling some sort of pull, decided it would best to go through that one. Once through, they could do nothing but hope that it was the correct decision as the door immediately disappeared.

Instead they decided to set up camp and then proceeded to enjoying sitting in the sun for a bit. Though on the way back from gathering some firewood, Mish saw something that caused him to drop his small bundle and run back, slipping his mask on.

" _Guys! Quickly cover yer faces, we are near the territory of the Face Stealers!"_ Skidding to a halt in front of the other two, all he received were blank stares in return.

" _Whoa, hold up little guy. What?"_ said Lars as Gilbert chuckled and muttered  _"Kids..."_

Ignoring them, the boy immediately began ruffling through their ruck sacks for something, throwing things up in the air.

" _All they would have needed was an instance of a loss of eye contact and you could be lost without anyone knowing."_

" _Hold up Mish.."_ said Gilbert walking over and stilling the others movements  _"What are these Face Stealers?"_

" _They are creatures, shape-shifters, that steal your appearance, then eat you. Very Tricksy. All they need to do is see your face!"_ Wriggling free, he grabbed a discarded mask and offered it to the albino " _Quickly put on a mas..."_

Focusing a bit on the one who was suddenly quiet, he realized his mistake. He noticed that despite the fact that the sun was shining directly upon them, only two of them showed a shadow. Rushing forward, he immediately planted a dagger into Lars chest, killing him.  _"T'ief!"_

" _Wait!...What do you think you're doing!"_ Shouted Gilbert, grabbing the boy by the scruff of his cape.

" _He was a Face Stealer!"_ Mish shouted, wriggling, trying to escape the stronger man's grasp as he pointed _"See, look! He had no shadow and he's dissolving into air!_ "

Noticing the child had a point, Gilbert put him back on the ground.  _"Then where is Lars?"_

Tying a scarf around the others face so only his eyes could be seen, Mish then looked at the ground, quickly inspected the tracks, sniffed the air a few times, tail twitching, before running and climbing a nearby tree before coming back down with a bound, angry Dutchman.  _"The stealer was greedy, he wanted more then one, so we are lucky to get you back in one piece."_  rambled the young boy to the other as he untied him.  _"Now put on a mask of a sort on already, they usually travel in groups."_

There was some scrambling about as they found another scarf for Lars then before they could continue walking, they heard some bushes rustling. Immediately weapons were at hand but they needn't have bothered when they heard a familiar voice

" _Did you know berry bushes originated from Korea da~ze?"_ and from the foliage stepped an excited Korean followed by a few Yetis who appeared to be humouring the fellow. There was a moment of silence before Lars and Gilbert found themselves again tackled to the ground by an overenthusiastic Asian.

* * *

Off of the coast of Australia, in a boat on the Great Barrier Reef near the North Horne diving site, there were five Brits and a Frenchman talking (sounds like some sort of joke) rather loudly about what they were about to attempt as they pulled on wet suits..

"Sourcils, remind me again why this is a good idea."

"Because, A) we need to reopen the portals from our side if the twelve of them are ever to get home. B) because I have the most experience with magic. C) because I need someone to be in the shark cage to help me just in case and as my so-called family flat out refused, you are it. D) because it's an excuse to see you in a hideous wet suit and finally E) Who knows, I might get lucky and you'll be stung by some death-inducing jellyfish"

"...You are an ass as always, rosbif. Un Lichieres pautonnier!" calmly said Francis (though one could see he was slightly annoyed)

"What was that frog? I can't hear you over your loud, panicking heartbeat. Are you that afraid of getting your hair wet? Coward." said Arthur, equally as calm.

"Si tu fous le camp et meurs, ça m'est égal!" As the French man quickly put on the wet suit. This was almost becoming a contest to see who would snap first...

"Thank you for your words of support, I knew I could count on you."

"You are lucky I appreciate your company bâtard, or you would have been dead long ago."

"Same to you"

"No, you would have been long dead from your sad-excuse-for cooking before you even reached my knees. Ergo, killing me when you could not reach anything beside my hamstring would have been completely impossible."

Insulting his height and cooking caused England to snap, he had been taunting the French man slightly to mask the fear he felt at going into the water. He was sure Francis knew this and had been playing along as arguing with the other was a soothing, familiar thing for him allowing him to forget all of the bad experiences he'd had with this particular former colony. But this? Insulting his cooking, height and lethality (especially as a nation)? This was crossing the line.

"Listen you great twat, all I would have needed to do was ask one of the dragons to eat you or the unicorns to get you, after all they appreciate  _virgins_  and with you around, they had become in short supply. If anything else, even you would have needed to sleep at some point, bringing you down off your high horse and into the reach of my "little" hands. Height had nothing to do with it, you would have been dead before you even you ceased being Gaul and became France."

Aneiren then interrupted (cause he drew the short straw) before they could  _really_ get going.

"Oi! You two wankers! Get over your unresolved sexual tension already and GET ON WITH IT! (YES GET ON WITH IT! cried several background voices) We want to be out of here before the sun goes down, right? That way you can at least  _see_  the sharks before you're food for the big fishies, cause at night you'll not be gettin' that opportunity...That and the sooner you do this, the sooner Matt can get home AND you can then apologize oh mighty British Empire."

There was a few awkward moments of silence and shuffling before the two manned up and faced each other.

"Right...Sorry frog, friends?"

"Amis. I am also sorry bushy brows."

With that they quickly donned the scuba gear and were in the water, swimming into the shark cage. Lowering themselves down, they quickly scanned around for the stone that Broccos had mentioned (the badger refused to go in the water, have you ever smelt wet badger?).

After a few tense minutes, they had at last spotted it nestled among some anemones, sea sponges and a few Duncans.

Giving Francis the thumbs up, he gently opened the cage door and swam out into the open water.

* * *

_Meanwhile back at the boat..._

There were four very bored nations.

Deciding there was nothing else to do, Kathleen and Aneiren (who probably had the best relationship with Arthur) began to go through the first aid kit they brought with them.

"Do you bring all the different anti-venom?" asked Kathleen

"Well, not exactly. We have the anti-venom for the Stonefish, for as many of the fifteen sea-snakes as I could find and some anaesthetic agents for the Lion Fish. Though we should also probably get some hot water ready, just in case, for the Fish and for the Cone Shell's treatment. We have vinegar which will cover most jelly fish stings and the Irukandji jellies. We have some antivenin in addition just in case we run into a Box Jellyfish out here (which is rather unlikely). Hopefully Arthur won't try and touch a Blue-Ringed octopus again (or get Francis to touch one) because there still is no known anti-venom since he was last stung in the 1800's and we don't need him dead for a week again..."

From where Pat was sitting on shark/crocodile watching duty – because yes, in addition to sharks, salt water crocodiles are sometimes known to go over 200km away from shore, it was quite possible for them to be at the reefs though slightly unlikely – he shouted "Can you not just leave it be? I don't think he'll be needing all that. Pair o' mother hens"

"It's evident that you've never been to here with Art then," retorted Kathleen "otherwise you'd know he's as accident prone as they come here. Within the first day the last I was here with him  _last year_ , he got bit by a Tiger Snake, then a Funnel-Web spider then he pissed off Steve's koala so much that his face was mauled and we had to go back to the hospital for a third time. I do not trust the twat a wit in Australia."

Aneiren then commented "Did you happen to grab anything for stingrays? I didn't think to..."

Ignoring the two worry-warts, Pat and Bruce also began to talk about their youngest brother while scanning the waters below though it was with considerable less parental concern.

"Do you feel bad for sending him down there when this be a well known shark filled area?" Pat asked

"...Nah. After those years of abuse? Not in the slightest. Just as long he doesn't get mauled too bad." answered Bruce after a moment with a slightly evil grin.

"Me too bro, me too."

There was a brief pause before South Ireland asked "Where did you think we went wrong raising the tosser so that he was such an ass and a stick in the mud at tha same time. And do you think a shark attack might dislodge said stick?"

"I dunno, by your last comment though I think us four might just have been bad parents. And I dunno about the stick, I think it's wedged in there pretty dang tight." answered Bruce

"True, True."

* * *

About 40 meters down (43.8 yards), not aware of the two conversations on his behalf, Arthur had reached the gateway stone buried in the coral. Swimming slowly, he attracted the curiosity of the sharks who brushed past him (he was glad for the special wet suit or his skin would have been covered in cuts from their rough scales/skin) but beyond circling him a little, they treated him with indifference. The same went for the manta rays and eagle rays swimming lazily about. Gently moving the coral (not cutting or destroying in any way if he could help it, after all it was a UNESCO world heritage site) that covered the rock, he managed at last to have it in full view.

Now came the more interesting part.

Looking about for any potential predators or dangers and not finding any really close by, he proceeded with the next part, fully prepared to book it back to the shark cage.

Taking the blade from it's sheath on his wetsuit belt, he brought his hand close to the rock, before slicing open his palm (that way it would actually end up on the rock) and smacking his hand down. He watched wide eyed as the effect was immediate, with glowing runes swirling on the rock and... _shit that wasn't mentioned in the book_ , it pulled the magic out of his body, causing him to pass out, just as several parties turned to him, now highly interested.

* * *

Francis was not happy with this turn of events.

Neither were those watching on the surface.

While it is true that sharks are not attracted to (or at least particularly interested in)  _human_ blood, it turns out that the same can not be said of nations. This is probably because they represent their countries as a whole, meaning that they also represent the flora and fauna- including fish. The blood of which is  _very_  appealing to sharks.

From the surface at the North Horne diving point, Arthur's siblings could only watch with dread at the previously innocently swimming sharks began making a beeline for the unconscious diver. There were mostly Whitetip Reefs, Gray Reefs and Silver Tip Reefs but there were also a few of the considerably more dangerous Thresher and Hammerhead sharks in the area. Shit, Aneiren was pretty sure that that one was a Tiger shark which is one of the kinds known for non-provoked attacks. The situation got even worse when Bruce jumped up shouting on noticing the threats, he startled Pat, who then accidentally knocked a bucket of chum into the water in an attempt not to fall.

 _... This wasn't good_  was all four could think as they lost visibility and the water began to froth from the predators movements.

* * *

Elsewhere Romano sneezed as his  _England Cause of Death #77_ started to play out.

* * *

Francis, seeing the descending menaces on the hapless Englishman, made the quickest decision of his life. He had spent the night prior talking with Kathleen (after nearly killing Arthur again once he was fully informed of Matthew's problem), and had learned all about totems. He had been unable to summon anything but had managed a small bit of magic. Now though, all conscious thought had abandoned him and he was reacting solely out of instinct, there was no way he'd let his eternal rival (and harder for him to admit, best friend) get eaten by some overgrown fish.

Swimming out with the greatest speed he could muster, he swept one arm out, weaving some magic in order to creating an illusion around Arthur so it would appear he was not there and a fairly weak shield as well around the Brit's hand so there was no more blood entering the water. The knocked over chum turned out to be a blessing as many sharks were diverted by the more plentiful, better smelling and easier-to-catch food. Grabbing the unconscious one, he proceed to swim downwards, as the site went down over 1000 meters and proceeded to use nothing but his intuition as he began having trouble seeing. Eyes closed, he somehow knew when there was some sort of rock or thing to avoid and how to do so, it was incredible.

Now, it is impossible to out-swim a shark as a human, so as he swam and did his best to outmanoeuvre the few still following them, he created illusions of injured and flailing fish, complete with blood in the water, to provide sufficient distraction for them to get away. This distracted them long enough he was able to reach the door of the shark cage and get in, slamming it shut. Immediately, he frantically began to pull the cord attached to a bell at the top, signalling he wanted up  _now_.

Upon getting back on the boat, he was startled when a northern bat immediately dove into him, nestling into his suit. It was so small, and furry with big ears...it looked so cute. Hmm... it was odd though. The bat was not native to Australia, it was daytime and they were far out from shore...Ahh. "Vous êtes, alors, mon compagnon?" Receiving a squeak in reply, (which he took as a "Bien sûr~") he then looking up at the concerned faces looking down on him, and said "Never again, not for anything. Mon Dieu. That was 'orrible." Then he joined England in dreamland as he was exhausted by the extreme swimming and magic use; leaving in his wake four very stunned figures.

Well, at least they didn't have to use the first aid kit for anything else but bandaging Arthur's hand.

With one gateway stone out of the way and no other plans for the night, they went back to Cairns to sleep at a lovely hotel where a massive Euchre tournament broke out as the two others slept. The next morning, heading off to Mexico for the Cave of Crystals.

* * *

_Creature List_

_**-Kraken:** Often portrayed as an octopus or squid of a giant size that attacks ships, rumoured to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway, Finland and Iceland._

_**-Leviathon:** monstrous sea creature symbolizing evil in the Old Testament. Sometimes descirbed to have multiple heads, is a huge crocodile type sea serpent/ dragon_

_**-Iku-Turso:**  appearance kinda vague. Finnish creature- a giant thousand headed with a thousand horns fish-octopus_

_**-Yacumama:**  A giant snake, sometimes associated with rain from South American traditions_

_**-Loch Ness monster:**  large aquatic creature supposed to live in Loch Ness in Scotland and looks either like a giant snake or plesiosaur_

_**-Undine:**  beautiful, small, elemental beings of water from France (?). Often assume a human shape with long dark hair, dark eyes, pale white/bluish skin, slender bodies and graceful hands. Are very beautiful, but strange/otherworldly. Their touch is moist and cool, and their hair appears damp._

_**\- Ningyo:**  "human fish"Japanese origins. Described with a mouth like a monkey's, small teeth like a fish's, shining golden scales, and a quiet voice like a skylark or a flute. Flesh gives immortality_

_**-Jengu:**  is a water spirit from Cameroon, typically said to be beautiful, mermaid-like figures with wooly hair and gap-toothed smiles. Has fins in place of hands and feet. They live in rivers and the sea and bring good fortune._

_**-Encantado:**  Brazilian dolphin human shape-shifters, similar to the English selkie in the way. Have high musical ability, seductive and love sex in addition to being attraction to parties. Can control storms, enchant humans into doing will, inflict sickness/madness/death and can bring humans underwater with them to their homes without killing them (kidnapping usually present though)_

_**-Selkie:**  seals that can shed skin to become human, require skin to change back_

_**-Mermaids:**  Half human, half fish_

_**-Naiad:**  beautiful, eternally youthful. Pale skinned and fair_

_nymph of water, typically living in lakes and springs and rivers and fountains. Greek._

_**-Vodyanoy:**  is a water spirit in Slavic myths. A very grotesque creature with green skin and beard, has gills, webbed fingers and is covered in swamp muck, algae and seaweed. Appearance is often described as that of a vagabond. He either kidnaps people to be used as slaves in his underwater home or drowns unfortunates and puts their souls in porcelain teacups._

_**-Hippocamp:** Greek- cross between horse head and upper torso and fish tail_

_**-Kappa:**  roughly humanoid, size of a child. Their scaly, reptilian skin, have webbed hands and feet and an indent on the top of their head that holds water; which is source of their power: if it spills, they are rendered helpless. They are extremely polite so if ever trapped by one, by bowing deeply to them; the kappa will be obliged to return the bow, thus spilling their water._

* * *

_Translations_

_halløj!_ (Danish- hey!/hello!: used to attract someone's attention)

 _kammerat_ (Danish- friend/comrade. It's familial)

 _Ngg. Mis Testa._ (Italian- Ngg. My head)

 _Quanto ho bevuto?_ (Italian- How much did I drink)

 _Vaffanculo, merda e Dio Mannaggia._ (Italian- Fuck, shit and God damn)

_Al die willen te kaap'ren varen/ Moeten mannen met baarden zijn/ Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel/ Die hebben baarden, die hebben baarden/Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel/ Die hebben baarden, die hebben baarden/Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel/Moeten mannen met baarden zijn/ Al die ranzige tweebak lusten/Die hebben baarden, zij varen mee/Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel/ Die hebben baarden, zij varen mee/Al die deftige pijpkens smoren/Moeten mannen met baarden zijn /Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel/Die hebben baarden, die hebben baarden/Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel/Die hebben baarden, zij varen mee/Al die met ons de walrus killen/Al die dood en duivel niet duchten/Die hebben baarden, zij varen mee/Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel/Die hebben baarden, die hebben baarden/Jan, Piet, Joris en Corneel/Moeten mannen met baarden zijn/ Moeten mannen met baarden zijn_

(Dutch- Popular pirate shanty apparently: All who wants to fare out to raid with us/Must be men with beards/Jan, Pier, Tjores and Corneel/They have beards, they have beards/ Jan, Pier, Tjores and Corneel/They have beards, they sail with us/All who like the taste of filthy rusk/Must be men with beards/Jan, Pier, Tjores and Corneel/They have beards, they have beards/ Jan, Pier, Tjores and Corneel/ They have beards, they sail with us/ All who smoke classy pipes/ Must be men with beards/ Jan, Pier, Tjores and Corneel/ They have beards, they have beards/ Jan, Pier, Tjores and Corneel/ They have beards, they sail with us/ All who hunt the walrus with us/Must be men with beards/Jan, Pier, Tjores and Corneel/They have beards, they have beards/ Jan, Pier, Tjores and Corneel/ They have beards, they sail with us/All who do not fear death and devil/Must be men with beard)

_Verduiveld_ _(Dutch- By the Devil)_

_Meerman_ _(Dutch- mermen)_

_der Fliegende Holländer_ _(German the Flying Dutchman)_

_scheisse-_ (German- shit)

 _Sourcils_ (French- Eyebrows)

 _Lichieres pautonnier_ (French- this is hard to translate... a wicked, evil person? Very old insult)

 _Si tu fous le camp et meurs, ça m'est égal!_ (French- If you fuck off and die, I would not care at all)

 _Bâtard_ (French- Bastard)

 _Amis._ (French- Friends.)

 _Vous êtes, alors, mon compagnon_? (French- So you are my companion/friend)

 _Bien sûr_ (French- of course)

* * *

**France- Northern Bat: Air element. Symbolize adaptability, secrecy, good listening, emotions, rebirth, fear and overcoming fear, hidden strength, communication, intuition (echolocation?) motherhood/protection (only winged creatures to suckle young) and illusions- to see past them and to the truth. Seen as highly sociable, kinda egotistical with things good at and highly sexual in personal dealings (no I have no idea why this is part of it, I'm just going with it.)**

**I like bats, I think they're really cool and kinda cute so hopefully I have not offended anyone by giving this particular creature to France, especially as I felt it described his character well.**

**Alright, so just to be clear, the reason that Germany's land sunk 2 inches was because he died in the other world so his fate would have been the same as Atlantis's but due to the time difference, the few seconds over there was just a few minutes (it would have been less then ten minutes to do two cycles of five sets) which was the time it took Feli to revive him So the land was unable to sink like Atlantis's because Germany was revived! Woot. (It makes sense to me)**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN-** **Figured I should answer this question to avoid confusion here as well- from the last chapter , I mentioned a creature called a Porlock. This was suggested by my friend when I asked her if she knew of any non-Greek mythological creatures- I know it's from Harry Potter but I was unable to find the stem/original creature name that she told me about, but besides the name, apparently they are the same creature. If you know what it's actually called, I would love to know cause I could not find it anywhere. The face stealers are very similar to doppelgangers, but they are not ghostly doubles or the persons alter ego- they're a combination of doppelgangers and shapeshifters from a nightmare I had once.**

**I got a private message from someone who was confused by battle scenes. I do not know much about any sort of armed combat but in order to try and clear things up, I've done my best to include more detail. If any of you know sword fighting, you will likely see that I know nothing as I used the wrong guards together or something. I tried.**

**I do not own Hetalia or anything else mentioned in this**

* * *

"WHY 'RE NONE OF THESE FECKING GATESTONES SOMEWHERE SAFE? IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE BAIRNS I'D WASH MY HANDS OF THIS MESS SO QUICK!" Bruce shouted in exasperation, running a tense hand through already his already dishevelled brown locks.

They were now in one of the first class cabins of a plane; luckily each of them were sequestrated from each other and sound proof so that none of the other passengers could hear the din Bruce was now making.

The morning after the adventure at the reef, the British Isles had packed their bags, grabbed Francis and Arthur and made their way to the airport. They'd gotten a few strange looks going through security at the airport with two unconscious men slung over Bruce and Pat's shoulders but after flashing a bit of ID, they were let through.

Now, after the near-disaster in Australia, they had begun to research a little more on their destinations just to avoid any other near-death incidents.

Everest's dangers were a bit obvious and well-known: lack of oxygen, avalanches, frostbite, hypothermia, hidden bottomless crevasses, AMS, snow-blindness, Khumbu Ice Fall, just to name a few.

Mt. Etna as well was a bit obvious considering it's an active volcano; meaning lots of lava, ash, smoke, extreme heat, toxic gases, etc., especially as it had started erupting again a few years ago.

Then there was the Crystal Caves which should seem a bit more like a walk in the park, but noooooo. It was over 50ºC in there and 100% humidity which entails that your lungs ARE the coolest surface that the air encounters which means that any fluid in the air will condense in your lungs, that and there was an enormous possibility of passing out before the stone was even found.

This was not going to be fun.

The entire plane ride from Australia to Mexico took about forty hours, the first twenty-four of which was spent arguing about who the unfortunate souls would be who would have to venture where. It ended when Wales got fed up of Irelands being at each others throats, England attempting to force a scone down France's throat and Scotland egging them on and summoned Y Ddraig Goch (or the Welsh Dragon), promptly threatening with being roasted. For the rest of the flight the dragon could be seen curled around a sleeping Aneiren's neck, glaring balefully at the nations now having a strained but civilized discussion.

It was ultimately decided (mostly) through flipping a coin: Aneiren and Kathleen would go through the crystal caves then as it was all England's fault anyway, he was volunteered to go up Mt. Etna with Francis (who drew the short straw). Then Bruce and Pat would be the ones to get to go up Everest.

The remainder of the flight was spent in blissful silence due to all parties being unconscious. As that is the only possible way truly to get silence among the six eternally fighting nations...

Scratch that. It's the only way to get nearly complete silence among the six.

Bruce snores.

* * *

Romano was really bored.

He had been assigned to watch the ocean for the night at the Rebels base back to make sure the enemy didn't attack them from that direction.

But, with nothing but endless blue to look at, the sentry business was pretty dull, luckily the sun was just coming up so he would soon be relieved to go sleep.

And when he was this bored he thought about stuff he really didn't want to.

Like whether or not his brother was alright. Like if Potato Bastard #1 was taking care of him as he should. Like whether or not everyone else was okay, it had been nearly a year. Like if Antonio had actually found and been fooled by his note explaining that Feliciano was dragging him on vacation at the Italys' house. Like if the Tomato Bastard missed him and was looking after their garden properly. Or wondering what the Spaniard was doing now...

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! He was thinking far too much! Distraction. He needed a distraction. Like..

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ON THE HORIZON?

* * *

They had been innocently swimming along and they should be in sight of the mainland in a few days according to the Kraken. Italien and Dänemark had gone using their totems to go catch them some food leaving him to sit on the top of the sea monsters head and twiddle his thumbs.

Which is something he never thought he would say. Really.

He then winced in discomfort as his stomach growled loudly...Verdammt, he was hungry. The sun would be coming up soon so the two should hopefully be back momentarily.

Ludwig's thoughts were abruptly interrupted with the sound of several  _Tik-tik's_ in the air, each getting progressively quieter as if the source was moving away. Quickly looking around for the source of the odd sound, he saw nothing but a small rustling sound behind him caused his instincts to kick in and ducked and rolled leaving a dark figure to swoop past harmlessly.

Quickly getting to his feet, he drew his long sword as he scanned the skies. There were four black bird figures moving lazily through the sky, making it very difficult to see them as the sun was not even a sliver on the horizon yet. Instead he had to rely on the light provided by the two moons trying to see them as they blended in with the still dark sky.

As he did this, brain immediately began processing what was known about his assailants, meticulous picking up on every detail from those few seconds. One- the Tik Tik noise, certainly not common in the monster spectrum, Two- The thing which had swooped past him was too big to be a bird but as it flew away, it certainly was the size of one. Likely his opponent was a shapeshifter. Three- They had come at night, meaning they were likely to be nocturnal but considering it was nearly sunrise, they were not bothered by the sun, it was just more their advantage at night Four- It had blood red eyes.

There was only one creature that met these requirements, Philippines's Aswang.

All of this was determined in seconds as the four creatures swooped down at him. Germany automatically began to fight them off- block claws of one bird with one blade before stabbing at it in an a sort of  _Absetzen_  movement, before moving into a  _Zerchhau_  to fend of the next. Spinning into a  _Rownde_ , he was able to deal two solid blows to the others where, from the  _Rownde_ , he stepped into a series of  _Acshneiden_ using _Scheitelhau, Zomhau, Oberhau, Unterhau, Scheitelhau, Schielhau, Vater Streich, Schrankhut_ and  _Krumphau,_ flowing from one set to another to repel the birds in the air and the one who had changed into her more grotesque human form. After this, he momentarily settled into a  _Pflug_ stance, waiting for the next set of attacks. After all, bronze was not among it's chief weaknesses, meaning that a lot more damage would have to be done to kill it.

All the while, his mind was racing, flipping through his mental archives. What were the weaknesses of these creatures?

There was an oil decanted from coconut meat with a few herbs added was said to repel them, as was garlic or ginger while a stingray tail or a silver sword were said to severely hurt them, but he didn't have any of these things so that was rather unhelpful. Hmm. According to a strange conversation he had once with the personification of the area, apparently throwing semen at them will irritate them and phallic objects will terrify them but he's pretty sure those two things were just her way of messing with him. What else did she say might work?

... SALT!

He switched around from  _Ochs_ to  _Pfung_ to  _Hangentorte_ to  _Alber_ to  _Vom Dach_ getting as many attacks in as possible trying to repel the four long enough to get to his pack and get the salt. Though as he spun the blade forward from a  _Tail Guard_ he succeeded in stabbing one all the through and it fell into the ocean.

Now he only had three opponents, grinning manically as he felt the adrenaline from the battle hit him, he attacked again with the  _Acshneiden_ and  _Ochs_ as he called forth his totems to rip and tear. The Weimaraner, Deutscher Jagdterrier, Black Mouth Cur, Beagle and Azawakh responded immediately, as they were hunting dogs but the German Shepard, Doberman, Leonberger and Rottweiler were not far behind, harassing and chasing around the birds, even succeeding catching one and ruthlessly killing it.

In the one Aswang's death though, there was a small hole created in their defence and the one soundlessly swooped down at the kneeling Ludwig, changing into her winged vampire form as she did so. Just as she was a few centimetres away, he turned and threw salt in her face. Now clawing at her face as the salt burned, Germany was easily able to dispatch of her while his dogs drove the final one towards him to meet the same fate as its brethren.

Knocking their bodies into the ocean, he telepathically thanked all his dogs, especially the Leonberger who had mentally alerted him to the approaching bird. Sleepy from having waited all night for Mathias and Feliciano to rejoin him he asked the Weimaraner and Black Mouth Cur to stand guard while he rested among a giant dog pile.

He did not get to rest long as Feliciano loudly announced his return as he asked for the Kraken's help in getting the former Viking back up on the top of it's head.  _(GERMANY! Mathias cut his hand on a rock trying to catch a salmon and passed out! It was scaryyyyyy!)_ With them came a fishy breakfast and the mainland came into sight, just as the sun was about halfway up.

* * *

Soon after spotting the giant approaching blob (who had the sun at it's back so one couldn't really see detail without being blinded), Romano alerted his fellow sentries and sounded the alarm. Within minutes, a force of a few hundred were standing there on the beach weapons at the ready. Grid, one of the Jötnar, a frost giantess to be specific, waded out to intercept the potential enemy, armed with her magic belt, iron gloves and staff.

From the shore, they could only watch as the two forces met, but after she waved to them and began to make her way back as the blob went under the water, they all let out a sigh of relief. As she was within hearing distance of the beach, those whose remained immediately began to ask what it was.

With a laugh she answered  _"It was old ship-killer, he was just on his way to drop off some old friends and I offered to take them off his hands."_  Bending down, she put her fist on the ground and unfurled her fingers revealing a fairly perturbed Mathias and Ludwig and oblivious Feliciano.

A moment of silence then

"FRATELLO!" Romano found himself staring at the sky as an enthusiastic Feliciano spun him around in an enthusiastic hug before slipping and pitching forward so he was on top of the other.

And oddly enough, the Southern Italian did not mind one bit.

After a happy reunion between the six nations, with Katyusha nearly suffocating Feliciano, Ludwig and Mathis in bone crushing hugs and Feliciano jumping Steven and Romano, they were immediately immersed in the resistance movement. This led, a few months later, to an attack on a known minor base for Morgan's forces with all six nations taking part.

They fought through several forces and set the building on fire, all the while looking for their missing comrades but found nothing. Though it was odd, as Romano ran through one of the abandoned rooms, he was startled to see it already trashed, with glass all over the floor and was even more surprised when a floating wooden birch door disappeared.

He would be glad to get home, where things actually made sense.

* * *

As Korea was sent of to go forage for some food, Egypt and Hong Kong had begun searching around the enormous cavern that the dragons called their home for a rock that Egypt had seen in a prophetic dream, linking it to their safe return home. So he and Kaoru had done everything in their power to find the damn thing, their totems looking anywhere they couldn't reach. Funny thing was, was that they had found it when Gupta tripped over a loose rock and broke his fall by landing on it, cutting his cheek on it.

So on the bright side, they had found it. On the negative, Gupta was unconscious. As he waited for the other to wake up, Kaoru reasoned that it balanced out and decided to continue working with his pangolin. You see, he had begun to discover a new ability connected to his totem: pangolins were naturally very secretive and difficult to find, using his companion he could surpass even Kiku's ninja skills in sneakiness and disappearing in plain sight. Though he had yet to get it to last for a long period of time, he thought, as once again he popped back into view.

...

..

.

" _HONG KONG, HONG KONG! GUESS WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTT!"_

Oh dear, he wasn't sure he had the patience to deal with this right now.  _"Yes, Yong Soo?"_

" _I found Gilbert and Lars and they have this adorable kid with them! He could be from one of my Manhwa's! So cuteeeee!"_

Okay, maybe he could, even offering a small smile as the others came into view.

* * *

That night, they began to sort out their plans. It was Kaoru who took it upon himself to tell them of what they'd learned from the Yetis and a few of the more sociable Dragons; was that the door they had gone through connected to the Stairs of Time, the enormous spiralling staircase's doors each leading to a different time and a different place, the higher up one went the farther ahead in time you went as wherever you entered was your present and below it was the past. So from what they had been able to determine they were about thirteen to fifteen years after the incident with the Wendigo.

All things considered, Hong Kong thought the two normal hotheads took it rather well.

Lars had just nodded while Prussia spread-eagled on the ground, staring at the ceiling, mumbling how all this time stuff was making his head spin. They had figured out using Gupta's ability – making the decision to go in one direction and seeing if his visions would see them meeting up with everyone again – that the others lay to the West of them, by the Ocean and were in the company of a resistance group.

It was decided that first thing in the morning, they would head out that way.

A voice sounded out in the darkness;  _"Dear guests, we have been listening to you for the past few nights and the Yeti have come to a decision"_ the Yeti chieftain-ess stepped into the firelight  _"It has been far too long that we have been idle, we will come with you to rid the land of this scourge"_

A growling sounded above them,  _"There are a few Dragons here who are not happy to sit here and watch the world burn. We choose to cast our fates in with you"_

Well, that would make travelling a lot easier.

* * *

They had spent the next few days travelling by air as the Dragons who came with them (about ten in number from European to Asian types) were gracious enough to let them ride them as otherwise it would've taken at least a year to get over there anyway considering they were on opposite sides of the...country? Land mass? Whatever.

Mish sat one the head of one of the dragons, looking all like a cat that got the canary, an enormous grin splitting his face as his eyes stared with wonder at the tiny scenery below were close now, they could see the ocean so hopefully there would be some sort of sign of where their friends were and where the resistance base was. Suddenly Mish gave a cry and pointed at the ground, shouting  _"Those people are being attacked!_ "

And so they were, there was a group of centaurs, a few dwarves and one or two elves surrounded by a group of trolls.

Immediately making a decision, the ten dragons and all their passengers swooped down from the sky, shrieking as they went. Looking up at the skies, the trolls, seeing angry, hungry looking dragons diving at them did the sensible thing; as one they turned tail and fled.

After their arrival, introductions were made and it turned out that they were a scouting group sent by the resistance and so the Dragons, Yeti, Mish and the nations accompanied the fighters back to their base where they were met with a flurry of movement. Despite service rendered, protocol was protocol and was there for a reason so each person/creature returning had to pass a set of simple tests.

First, they had to prove that they could still speak, meaning they were not under Morgan's spell or whatever it was.

Second, there was a magic...scan (being the best term for it), that could sense any sort of hostile intent or danger from the individual.

Third, there was a sort of eye scan that could determine whether or not that person's consciousness was still present.

Then lastly, there was a spell to sense if any magic was being worked on them and dispelling them.

No one had any problems until the last person. When Mish's turn came, he easily passed the first and second tests but the third was inconclusive (which had those running the test confused) and the fourth he completely failed, turning a pale grey and running before it was completed, curling up in a ball in the testing room, rocking.

Gilbert, Lars, Kaoru, Yong Soo and Gupta had stayed behind to wait for the kid who they'd become rather fond of and were shocked when he had run. They had each started to go comfort the small child but had been stopped by the guards while one of the testers ran from the room.

" _What is going on here?"_ Shin'ari, the elf that had taught the nations about totems and magic entered the room.

" _We were scanning the entrants as per procedure ma'am but...this one did not pass the final test but nor did he fail the first three. We have no idea what to do, which is why we called you, Master Shin'ari."_

" _...Alright then._ " Crouching down to the boy's level, she began talking gently to him.  _"Boy, I am going to ask you a few questions, alright? You see this flame here?_ " With the wave of her left hand, a small white flame appeared beside her.  _"If you lie, it will darken or if you slightly lie or don't tell the whole truth it will go grey but if you do not lie, there is no problem. Okay? Let's start off with something simple, what is your name?"_

No answer.

" _BOY!"_  she shouted, steel entering her voice as she took her index finger and lifted his face so he was looking her in the eyes with his own tear filled ones.  _"I am not in the habit of brow beating children but unless you comply, we will likely have to execute you to preserve our security! So, I will not ask again. What is your name?"_

" _C-Chent. N-no wait. I'm Mest? No-no, tthat isn't it neither. C-Cint? Minh?... I d-do-don't KNOW! Why don't I kn-know?"_ At that, he buried his head back in his arms and continue sobbing.

All the while, the flame stayed white.

Letting out a nervous chuckle, Shin'ari said  _"Well...that's peculiar. Perhaps something else. Where did you come from?"_

" _I-I...dunno tha *sniff* either!"_

Flame stayed white

"... _Could you do me a favour and say a lie? Perhaps I managed to miscast the spell."_ The elf said, looking puzzled at the small flame.

" _I'm-m purplepeopleeater!"_ The kid obliged, still shaking.The flame went coal black before lightening again in the silence.

" _Well, it's working well enough. How bizarre. Guess we'll just have to go for the hard questions then since any personal ones don't seem to work. Why did you run when the test started?"_

" _B-because it hurt! Felt I was being split inta two!"_

And on it went but nothing conclusive could be pried from the child, despite the fact he told nothing but the truth.

" _Alright, I'm sorry but this is getting nowhere. We're going to try it again alright? I'll have D'iar here"_ Her deer totem went up and nuzzled the scared looking kid _"prevent you from being 'split' okay? But this is the only way either of us are going to see our beds tonight._ "

Looking to Gilbert, the Prussian saw terror in the boy's eyes and spoke up for the first time in those two gruelling hours and said  _"Here, Shin'ari. The poor little dude is terrified. Let the awesome me hold his hand or something."_

The elderly elf, looking like she wanted nothing more then to lie down tersely accepted and Mish immediately looked less tense as Gilbert took his hand.

Just after the spell had begun the kid instantly winced and tears began to stream down his face again though he stood his ground. As the spell continued, his shadow split into three and he lost all composure and started to scream, breaking Shin'ari's concentration and breaking off the spell and Mish collapsed into Gilbert's arms.

" _That was...interesting"_ the elf said

A light, squeaky voice came from Mish, despite the boy still being unconscious  _"Yes it was. I did not know that such simple magic could begin to unravel this."_

All eyes were now on the limp figure as a gruff, rumbling voice took over with a chortle  _"It is rather amusing is it not? Luckily we are at our destination, I do not think I have the will to fix the broken threads."_

Looking absolutely confused, Yong Soo voiced all their thoughts  _"What?"_

Flopping the boy's head around so he was looking (though his eyes were rolled into the back of his head) at the Korean both voices answered him, alternating between words _"Is it not obvious? We three banded together to safely make it back here and pass on our information. To level the playing field"_ Then drawing a feral smile, he said  _"All it depends on is whether you are quick enough to get it before SHE regains control."_

* * *

Meanwhile America had determined his and Russia's mission a complete bust. They had managed to contact the bosses of the status-unknown nations and had found out that now the Republic of South Africa and Seychelles were the only non affected nations in Africa and that all of Al's cousins in South America had been compromised. So too had been his step brothers in Central America with only Cuba still being with them. Finland had fallen and so had Austria, Hungary, Luxembourg, and Belgium. Slovakia, Moldova, Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were now confirmed cases. So it was decided that they all meet up in a meeting hall in Boston because their usual spot at UN headquarters in New York was too risky. As the two travelled around, they began immediately giving all non-infected nations a plane ticket for them and any provinces/territories and whatnot they might have, to there in order to try and prevent any more casualties.

It was now faster to list the non-diseased among them- him and Russia, Cuba, South Africa, Seychelles, Greenland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal, the UK, South Ireland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and France.

It wasn't looking good for avoiding WWIII.

On their way from checking in with Russia's boss and sending off the missing European's provinces and territories with Russia's and a few of America's own (who had brought the plane over) to Boston, the duo began making their way to Ivan's house so he could quickly put his affairs in order. However, just outside Moscow, they ran into a surprising set of obstacles.

Three of them to be exact.

Namely Turkey, Greece and Japan, who thought now would be a fun time to play dodge the Japanese katana, Greek dori and Hittite sickle sword.

Russia pulled his pipe and began to kol, the creepy laugh being the only sound that filled the air as they ducked and twisted around their fellows' attacks and countered with their own blows (America using his fists and Russia, his pipe). Despite both Russia and America insulting them at every turn, none of the three spoke a word or showed any emotion.

Within a few minutes, America's phone rang as it received a text from Tony saying "Look up" and in that second of being unguarded, Japan swooped in with a slash but Russia stepped in front, taking the wound himself. A second later, both Alfred and he were safe on Tony's ship. Arthur, Francis, Pat, Aneiren, Kathleen and Bruce were all already on board the craft look considerably worse for the wear, especially Arthur who was covered in burns though Bruce and Pat were looking pretty frostbitten in areas.

Already, the pain in his side from where he was stabbed was becoming manageable, ignorable but, Russia felt a new pain emerge in his neck in a familiar kind of pressure. One he'd come to know all too well after his days as the USSR.

Something was trying to take his thoughts and freedom away.

Growling, he said to the air "Вы думаете, что вы можете приручить меня?" At that he closed his eyes and to all appearances passed out, focusing all his energies to this mental battle.

"R-Russia? RUSSIA!"

* * *

" _Can you be fast enough? You will likely have but a few moments."_ The dual voices said.

" _Fast enough to do what?"_ asked Shin'ari

" _To see his memories and understand all of this."_ said the high pitched voice with a giggle

" _His? Why not yours?"_

" _His because, in order for this to have worked, he had to put his consciousness to sleep so that SHE could not find him so we have been looking out for him until we could get here. But now is the time when we can split"_ said the deep voice.

" _Who is we?"_

The deep voice answered  _"My name is Chesh or Cheshire, I served Titania and I was there when the court fell. Him, he's the one called Mint or Flying Mint Bunny."_

At the second name every nation in the room jumped. Flying...? Right, England wasn't crazy, these creatures existed.

Before any sort of discussion continued, several shouts came from outside the room before Katyusha, Steven, Romano, Mathias, Ludwig and Feliciano burst in.

"You guys are still alive! After fifteen years, we were so worried" was shouted out in a multitude of languages as many of the newcomers were tackled to the ground. Though delighted to see them, the others quickly reassured them that they'd talk later and gestured for them to sit down and for there to be silence.

" _Sadly, neither Chesh nor myself can explain what is going on. I cannot because I was not there when it happened but rather ran into him in the burning building and Chesh because his body is still trapped, only his conscience is free and so is fully bound by HER will to keep her secrets still. Come, instead of this idle chit-chat, the best way is for you to see. So Shin'ari, come stand beside us and have the memory spell at the ready, Gilbert, we'll need you to hold him down once we split. Ready?"_ Without waiting for a reply, a soft glow enveloped the child's body and slowly a winged green rabbit emerged from his stomach. As he began to emerge, the boy grew in height, splitting most of his clothes so that it was hanging of him in tatters and his hair lost that green tinge.

Nobody dared to breathe.

Flying around, the rabbit then chirped  _"Better hold on to him better then that!"_ Gilbert immediately put his back to his friends' as he adjusted him hold _"Ready? Cause Chesh was the one who was mostly keeping the device from regaining control and once he breaks apart from him, SHE's going to feel it and try and regain control."_ Getting nods, he then chirruped  _"K' Chesh now or never boyo."_  Soon a ghost like Katerz emerged as the man's cat ears, tails and spots disappeared and Shin'ari began using her spell.

Immediately, Prussia felt the man he had pinned in a presently holding in a Full Nelson Body Scissors wrestling hold, stiffen before saying in a strangled voice  _"Haha. You can't make me bow again. *Nmm* You're too late Morgan, your little *Aghh* little secret *pant* is out!"_ He let out a pained yell before saying  _"You can't break me"_ Unknowingly echoing his Northern compatriot's words.  _"I'm free!... Nyaghhhhhhh!"_

But even as his little speech wore on, it was evident he was losing-whatever-the-hell-this-was as he began to truly struggle to get free instead of just writhing in pain in the Prussian's arms. In that final yell, he managed to flip himself over and Gilbert found himself staring at a pair of violet eyes. Eyes that he had longed to see since his arrival here. And in that moment of stupefaction, his grip loosened enough that the Canadian was able to get free but Shin'ari was a second ahead and had grabbed Gilbert's sword from where it lay against the wall and brought it down on Matthew's neck.

* * *

Feeling the control suddenly sever, as though cut with a knife, several thousands of kilometres away, Morgan La Fay still allowed herself a moment to gloat. Yes, the Canadian had alerted the resistors to the key to all their misery but at the same time, it had allowed her to pinpoint their base.

With a sly grin, she signalled to her four generals: Koschei the Deathless, Titania, Beowulf and Cú Chulainn and gave the signal to mobilize everything. She was looking forward to crushing them and once that was done, well, she could move on to her former world.

 _"Arthur~ I'm coming"_ she hissed to the stagnant air.

* * *

Russia felt oddly triumphant he had managed to push this invasive force back and left it cowering in a corner of his mind, bloody, black and blue. Faintly hearing America still panicking, he rolled to his side, patting the others leg as he reached into his pocket and drew a knife, swiping at the back of his neck, before throwing it to the ground pining...

...an ink spider was pinned like a butterfly on a card by the great blade and immediately Matthew's movements stilled. The others seeing for the first time the identity of the figure rushed over panicked while turning to Shin'ari for answers. Who instantly after catching her breath shouted " _That women is even more to be abhorred! These are monstrosities that should not be allowed to exist! Is nothing sacred?"_

_~Flashback~_

_After Matt woke up after having been captured, he found himself in a Cathedral like space though without the peaceful atmosphere that came with it. Looking around, he was delighted to see that there were only a few others bound as he was, meaning that the dwarves had successfully escaped._

_That was good._

_Shifting, he tested his bonds. No, there would be no wriggling free of them, they were far too tight and too strong to break. Before he could attempt anything else, the gnome beside him was carried off by what appeared to be a shadow demon to a nearby table. There, he watched as a talisman on a piece of paper was activated and an inky spider rose off of it. Scurrying up to the others neck, he watched horrified as 6 of it legs burrowed into the neck, connecting to the gnome's nervous system while the other two went up behind the ears and sank in there, connecting to the mind. With a few words, a small blue light arose from the spider which one of the shadow creatures then trapped in a jar. The gnome, now free of his restraints, got up and walked out of the room on his own accord, eyes blank._

_Matthew watched helpless as this happened over and over again until he was picked up in strong arms and carried to a table and being chained to it face down. The moment his bonds were loosened, he tried to fight back but it was like he was paralysed, his body not responding enough but to make a few weak flails. He could feel the thing crawl up his back before latching onto his neck._

_And then the pain started._

_It felt like his body was on fire and though he knew he had the power to repel the invasion as the devices were meant to only manage one consciousness and he had about thirty-three million to push back with, he could not fight his way out of here on his own. It was best to endure and bide his time. So he allowed his consciousness as Matthew Williams to be separated from his body and pretended to be one of hers completely._

_Time passed, there was that odd conversation with Alfred but beyond that nothing worth telling happened until, he found out had also been successfully planted in Earth and that the other nations were beginning to fall under her talisman's control. The only way to get rid of this problem and the one in this dimension was to kill the witch. The weakness that she had was that she could not subjugate thousands of consciousnesses at once, if those jars were to be broken she'd loose a huge part of her force as they would no longer have to fight for her. Having gained as much information as possible and taking advantage of his near-invisibility (because he didn't have a strong magical presence he tended to be overlooked), he now just needed an opportunity. He got one when the one base was blown up by flour: now fearing the potential consequences of what would happen if such a thing happened in her jar room, she began to move them to another, more secure location. As he helped move them he 'accidentally' misplaced the ones holding both his own consciousness's jar and that of Chesh and then happened to trip over them later and break them._

_Such a shame._

_They were able to escape together with Cheshire preventing the talisman and its _tracking ability_ from really working while Matt regained control of his own body's movements. On the run, they were nearly captured at one point which was where they ran into Mint who helped them further disguise Matt and keep him hidden from Morgan La Fay. Realizing that it was his mind that drew her to them, Matt went to sleep asking Cheshire and Mint Bunny to get them to someone who they could show and benefit from the knowledge he had gleaned. Then he had ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time about twelve years ago when Romano and the others attacked that one hideout, one of the resistors saw him and began to chase him thinking he was an enemy. Ducking through one of the rooms, he stumbled on a floating beech door which he immediately jumped through and began to blindly run down the steps, straight into Lars and Gilbert._

_~End Flashback~_

* * *

Russia looked over at the stunned faces of seven nations and one alien, good to know he could still get such reactions from them. "Земля Альфред?" Snapping his fingers in front of the other mans face didn't get him anywhere. Well then.

_Bam._

"Ow. Owowowow. FUCK! IVAN! Why did you PUNCH me? That hurt dammit!"

"You weren't responding" Ivan deadpanned, amused.

"Bu-But that was still an over reaction. That really hurt!" Alfred whined, rubbing his already bruising arm.

"Нет. An over reaction would be me hitting you with the pipe, да?" He answered, giving the fake-innocent smile at the end.

"You wouldn't let me treat your wound, just shouted something in Russian, fell to the ground twitching then drew a knife and stabbed your own neck! Sorry if I'm struggling to process and to come to terms with it!

" Нет Comrade, I did not stab my neck, that would kill me silly. I stabbed the area just behind my neck, getting that." He said pointing to the spider "I think it might be our mysterious Assabikeshi and the source of our little problem, hmmm?"

" _Assabikeshi"_ breathed out Alfred "Of course! It's Otchipwe (Ojibwa) for spider...though that doesn't really explain why Matt wrote it on the bottom of that letter or what's going on."

"No, it does not" agreed Ivan "But it is a start." He then leaned over and gave the other a hug.

Which was nice and peaceful as the other party in the ship were still in shock and were quiet until Alfred realized something important.

"IVAN! Shit. You're still bleeding dude!"

* * *

The story that Shin'ari had spun after seeing Matt's memories explained to the entire resistance why former comrades could turn up on the other side of the battlefield, despite having sworn never to join her. Instantly the knowledge was applied with each minor skirmish earning them more and more prisoners, though once the spiders were removed, none of the figures moved. As, while free from the charm's and Morgan's control, their minds, their consciousness were still trapped: soon every spare bed was occupied by a former victim, waiting for a change.

It was quiet in the infirmary but for one lone person, sitting beside one of the beds. He could not sit still. He could not stand to see his friend like this. Looking down at the motionless blond figure, Prussia recalled an article he had read while waiting for his brother's meeting with the UK to end and being drawn in by the words of this Kevin Myers, who had never met Matthew but yet seemed to have his friend down pat.

" _As always, Canada will now bury its war dead, just as the rest of the world, as always,will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does. It seems that Canada's historic mission is to come to the selfless aid of both its friends and complete strangers, and then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored. Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once helped glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her yet again. " *_

Nudging his chair closer, Prussia leaned over and slowly ran his right hand over the blond strands as he whispered "Hey...Matt. When you wake up, I'll ask you to come dance with me. We could even make a day of it, I could take you out to Timmy's in the morning, go do some sightseeing, after that you could make fun of me as we go skating before we go to the club and stay out to dawn. All you gotta do is wake up." Pausing in his petting of the Canadian's hair, he looked over at the other man's face and felt such peace wash over him that... Hell. Did his heart just skip a beat? "You know what kid? If you wake up right now, we could even make a date of it, sound good? After all it's not every day you get asked out by awesomeness personified" he said as his hand slipped lower so it was cupping his cheek

When the unconscious man leaned into the touch, he decided that that was close enough to an affirmative answer as he continued his quiet vigil over the other, not even realizing that his other hand was now interlaced with the Canadian's.

* * *

* This was printed in the April 21, 2002 edition of the  **Sunday Telegraph** (British) and in April 26, 2002 in the  **National Post** (Canada) in honour of our dead in Afghanistan, specifically after 4 Canadians were accidentally shot down by a US warplane.

* * *

 **Aswang**  - From the Philippines, inherently evil female shape-shifting, vampire-like creature that feasts on the dead and eats babies. Has wings, long tongue, unkept appearance red eyes, frequently very thin, very plain looking. Hunt at night, but do not have aversion to day. Tik-tik noise is made so that it sounds like they are getting away from victims- to confuse and are silent when close.

 **Jötnar _-_** Giants from Norse mythology. Are nature spirits (are fire giants or frost giants), have superhuman strength, some are attributed to being mountains while at other times are described as being the same height as humans. Some are described as beautiful while others might have claws, multiple heads, fangs or are deformed. Wise. Can be good or evil.

* * *

**Translations**

_bairns -_  (Scottish slang: affectionate term for kids/children)

 _Verdammt –_ (German: Damn)

 _Вы думаете, что вы можете приручить меня?_ (Russian- You think you can tame me?)

Земля Альфред (Russian- Earth to Alfred)

 _Нет_ (Russian- No)

* * *

_**Longsword attack terms:** _

_Absetzen-_ (German technique: setting aside. counter to deflect an attack followed by a thrust)

 _Tail Guard-_ (A back guard. Weapon held pointing down and diagonally backwards)

 _Zerchhau –_ (German: Cross cut. Horizontal right to left or vice versa)

 _Ochs –_ (German: Ox (resemblance to horns?). Blade is over and behind the shoulder, pointing towards enemy. with the body turned away.)

 _Vom Dach_  – (German: From the roof. A high guard, blade held above head, blade pointing backward)

 _Pflug –_  (German: Plow. Blade is held at about waist height at a 45 angle pointing up at opponent chest/throat/face)

 _Alber –_  (German: The fool's Guard. Blade is held at about waist height at a 45 angle pointing down)

 _Hangentorte -_  (German: Hanging point. Inside guard, blade is horizontal, pointing forward and hilt is close- for warding, thrusting and parrying)

 _Rownde_ \- (English (?) technique: Windmill change in line arrack in which weapon is brought first down then back then up high)

 _Acshneiden_ (German: cutting aside. Seires of short daring cuts/slices used in close distances)

 _Scheitelhau_ (German: vertical cuts)

 _Zomhau_ (German: diagonal cuts)

 _Oberhau_ (German: over cuts)

 _Unterhau_ (German: under cuts)

 _Scheitelhau_ (German: scalp cut)

 _Schielhau_ (German: squinting cut)

 _Vater Streich_ (German: Father strike)

 _Schrankhut_ (German: rage cut)

 _Krumphau_ (German: crooked cut)


	19. Chapter 19

**AN- Whoa shit you guys, this is nearly done (can't quite believe that). Just to clarify, the only reason Matt was unconscious was simply because he's exhausted- he's out of Morgan's clutches now. Anyhoo, I'm very busy with school right now so I apologize for the short update, but it's crunch time and I'll give a longer one when I have time.**

**I do not own Hetalia or anything else I reference in these**

* * *

_Mmm._

_This was nice._

_It was warm here and soft. His own cocoon of warmth._

_Most of all, he was safe here._

_Huh, it had been a long time since he had felt safe or any semblance of peace really._ _..Wonder where I am._

Cracking his eyes open a smidgen, just ever so slightly, the blonde cast his eyes around the room delighting in the sunlight that came streaming through the window and the air that pleasantly smelt faintly of sweet grass and vanilla.

_Someplace good._

There were several other beds in the room, all occupied, each with a vase of flowers beside them on the table and wooden cabinets lined the walls, an infirmary perhaps? Either way, he felt safe and cozy here, no point in moving really to investigate further.

Sleepily squirming a bit to try and get further under the quilt, he stopped when he was pulled closer by a pair of arms that he hadn't realized were twined around his body. In a moment of panic, he fully woke up as he managed to whip his body around just enough to see before relaxing; it was Gilbert's sleeping face right beside him. Meaning that it was his arms that were presently wrapped around him, keeping him from moving too much...

_Wait, Gilbert was here? Was he still dreaming?_

Stiffening, he recalled the events that had transpired before he passed out.

_That was right. He had managed to escape and they saved him from HER._

Relaxing as he sighed happily, he shifted a bit closer; after all he couldn't get farther under the blankets and Gilbert was a warm alternative before he closed his eyes again, revelling in the other's warmth and presence.

In an hour or so, Matt woke again as Gilbert began waking up (because when the awesome was awake so should everyone else) and opened his eyes. He watched as the older man twitched a bit and stretched before yawning and opening a pair of blood red eyes.

A pause then...

"Matt?" The albino whispered tentatively, as if he said it too loud, he would vanish.

"Hey Gil." whispered Matthew back, as he closed his eyes, fully intending to go back to sleep.

That was not in the cards.

"BIRDIE! I can't believe it you're awake! After four days, we were getting worried!" An enthusiastic Prussian shouted as he jumped up and soon enough, Matthew found himself being torn from his warm cocoon as he was lifted in the air and spun about.

Just then the door clicked open, a voice saying "Gilbert, how many times do I have to remind you, you have to eat too, let me watch..." Ludwig stopped in the doorway, watching as his Eastern counterpart gleefully spun the newly awakened one around and threw him in the air. Letting a rare smile grace his face, he stepped backwards into the hall and closed the door again. Then he took a deep breath as he put his shoulders back, chest out, straightening his back, arms at his sides, and then (in the voice Italy dreaded for training days) bellowed deafeningly "KANATA IST WACH! MATTHEW IS AWAKE!"

As the echoes of his shout faded, Ludwig had enough time to go back in, cross the room, fluff the pillows and rescue Matthew from his brother's bone crunching hug (whispering "It's good to see you awake" as he did so) and place him back under the quilts before absolute chaos entered the medical bay. First of all, Katyusha, Feliciano, Romano, Steven, Lars, Mathias, Gupta, Yong Soo and Kaoru all tried to burst through the door. As soon as they broke through (leaving wooden shrapnel in their wake) they all stopped at the foot of the bed, watching somewhat unnerved violet eyes stare back at them as if they could not believe he was staring back at them. Second when Matthew timidly waved, he found himself unable to breathe in the dogpile that immediately took place, his friend's shouts ringing in his ears. Feliciano and Katyusha's hugs appeared to be trying to force all the air out of his lungs, while Lars and Mathias just didn't appear to want to relegate their strength. Yong Soo's hug was interesting as he simultaneously expressed his joy in seeing his friend awake and claimed Matt's breasts for Korea as he did so. Gupta, Kaoru and Romano decided to wait until they could once again see the Canadian before giving him their own quiet hugs. Third, everyone was trying to talk at once.

Eventually order was restored by Germany who guilted them all for harassing a weakened Canadian - who was then overwhelmed with apologies and warned them that they might get kicked out for disrupting the peace.

Emerging for a breath, Matt was able to reassure them all that it was fine and that he was happy to see them too. Sitting back in his bed, he began some rapid fire questions of his own asking what had happened after his disappearance, their own adventures, etc. Settling in, they took all the chairs they could and when they didn't have enough, Feli sat on Ludwig's lap (ignoring his going rigid and furious blush as the poor socially awkward man tried to figure out what to do) , Gilbert clambered up beside Matthew and Steven, Mathias and Lars sat at the foot of the bed. This turned out to be a bad idea as the three tall nations proceeded to argue about leg room, before it could turn into a brawl, they were stopped when they heard a soft sound as Matthew desperately tried to hold in his laughter, tears running down his cheeks. He had missed this. Angry gazes softened and a truce was called as the leg room problem was resolved through rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.

They spent the rest of the day catching up on each others lives, Matthew not quite believing his ears as each story seemed to get taller in the re-telling but enjoying his time spent with his friends. He laughed at Denmark's reunion with his sea monster friend and at Australia's retelling of his, South Italy's and Ukraine's crossing of the mountain. He was amazed at South Korea's telling of the sealed army and at Netherlands's and Prussia's ordeal in the great underground maze. He listened wide eyed as Romano retold the tale of the Bunyip and Feliciano of Germany's near death. The story telling continued as he recounted his own adventures, soon someone came in to light the candles and Canada found himself slowly drifting off as Hong Kong told of their time with the Yetis.

He couldn't really recall of a time where he had been more happy, felt more at peace then just then surrounded by friends as the conversation streamed around him.

Smiling, he dozed off.

 _He had been found._  

* * *

  _Translations_

 _Kanata is wach! Matthäus ist wach!_ (Canada is awake! Matthew is awake!)


	20. Chapter 20

**AN-** **IMPORTANT NOTE! Under no circumstances in this fic will I refer to the aboriginal people of the Americas as "Indians" this is because the explorer that labelled them as such (10 internet points if you know who) was an idiot and THOUGHT HE WAS IN INDIA, therefore the natives would be INDIAN, this is obviously wrong. I'm only mentioning this as I've spent some time in Europe where they're still frequently referred to as such so just to let you know if they are native, they will be referred to as such or by their tribe or as aboriginal. Also I will not use Eskimo either as it means "raw-meat eater" and is viewed almost as an insult among most groups (to my knowledge) so if you are confused by the term Inuit, it's the same groups, just their preferred name.**

**Alright- I've done my best to research as many mythologies as possible, scouring the internet and my university's library. This however, does not mean that they're correct. If someone is NOT actually mythological but is a historical figure please LET ME KNOW and I will correct it, just as if the description is wrong – this is not intentionally but rather the product of trusting the internet not to lie to me.**

**Also, the sleep deprived talk is based off my own experiences, once you have been awake 32+ hours, you tend to act kind of drunk (swaying and slurring and are kinda stupid)**

**I OWN NOTHING (Except for the plot) and EARN NOTHING from the writing of this – Not Hetalia (in anime or manga form) nor anything else I reference in these.**

* * *

A few weeks following Matthew regaining consciousness had been a blur, from everywhere they had scouts coming and reporting Morgan's movements. When everything was combined, the answer of what she was up to was given: nothing good.

There were a great many boats, including the Argonauts and a few of the ships launched for the sake of the lovely Helen in addition to several sea monsters and water faring creatures approaching from the ocean. Besides that, she had mustered her  _entire_ army which was now marching northward to their present location.

And with numbers like that, there was no way they would be able to defend against them if they left circumstances as they were.

Long and short of it:

They needed to make/improve the fortifications and defences.

They needed to gather their own allies.

They needed to  _have_  allies.

They needed more weapons.

They needed more fighters.

They needed more TIME.

Sucks to be them, don't it?

So Gilgamesh had called this general assembly to sort out tasks and thus, here they were in a fairly small room, crammed with every sort of person and creature possible.

Scanning the room, Lars saw several of his fellows greatest heroes and figures. He could see the Maori chief Ati who had managed captured a fairy in his net and married her, the Polynesian hero Maui who managed to pull up the entire North Island of New Zealand with his fishing line and once caught the sun and Ngaru the Polynesian who invented the surfboard which prevented the king of sharks Tumuitearetoka from catching him. Alfhild, the legendary Norse woman fighter, and several Nordic Berserkers (you could tell cause they were dressed in bearskins, were covered in scars from not treating their injuries and bite marks in their shields from when they themselves to battle frenzy) were beside them.

Near them were Brunhilde, the former Valkyrie and the hero Siegfried of Teutonic and Norse myth were talking quietly in the corner, the Welsh Sir Gawain who had served King Arthur sat beside them, sharpening his blade. Robin Hood was leaning beside him, sleeping against the wall with an utterly board Will Stoutly beside him, Lars wisely guessed that the other members of the Englishman's marauding band had managed to skip out. A little further to the left sat the Irishmen Finn Mac Cumhail who had once caught the Salmon of Knowledge and his Fianna. Mathias was busy catching up with Holger Danske, one of his great heroes who was said to be sleeping in Catle of Kronborg, sword on his lap prepared to wake should Denmark ever have need of him again – and here he was! Ilya Muromets and Ivan Tsarevich, both great Russian heroes were watching the room wearily while Mikula the Slavic peasant hero tried to engage them in conversation. Baba Latingorka, the Slavic sorceress who could fight against the best of Russian male warriors and win just watched them with indifference.

On the right side of the room there was also Manuchihir the great Persian hero who had faced the army of Tur and beside him, his fellow countryman Rustam, the son of Zal who, at ten, was already strong enough to kill an elephant and had slain many monsters in his life time. Yorimasa, a famous Japanese warrior who slew a monster on top of the emperor's palace was also scanning the room from his corner of the room and beside him were his compatriots Benkei, the famous swordsmen, Hidesato the hero who slew many monsters including the monstrous centipede and Momotaro the hero who was found in a peach and had many adventures with a dog, monkey and pheasant. Near them was one of the the African Sotho's tribal legends, Moshanyana who slew the monster Kholumolumo who had swallowed up all the people and animals in the world.

Near him was Frau Holle of Germanic origin who has presently in her first incarnation of Maiden as she appeared to be an ash girl, face half black with soot and Lars hoped she remained that way as he wasn't sure the meeting room would handle if she switched to Mother who was woman at front, tree at back or  _God verhoede_ , the Crone who could do quite a bit of damage as this side was also known as Queen of the Witches or of Winter. There was the group of Greek heroes: Actaeon, Agamemnon, Ajax, Atalanta, Diomedes, Odysseus, Perseus, Heracles and Theseus with the Trojan Hector who was just standing kinda awkwardly with them. There was also the Arab, Sinbad the Sailor and many, many others who he didn't recognize.

However, they were just a rain drop in the ocean in comparison to the creatures they were rubbing shoulders with. Besides the looking-human Werewolves, Witches, Wizards, Necromancers, there were three times as many stranger creatures.

There were the remaining fae from the Japanese Yosei who appeared as miniature birds, the Polynesian nymphs, the Mareikura to the Welsh Cwn Annwn who were the pack of white, red eared spectral dogs used in the Wild Hunt to the Basque Laminak that lives underground.

There were the even fewer common Elves, Dwarves, Centaurs, Fauns, Griffins, Ghouls, Ogres, Trolls and Elementals that had avoided Morgan's round up of their kinds. Then there were a few Ghost and Poltergeists moaning around the room, causing small mischief.

There were also several animal-esque creatures here, upon the table there were several Su from Patagonia: a bear-like mammal with a badger's snout and a long tail which it covered it's back and it's young clinging to it. The Lemisch from somewhere in South America, had it's serpentine lower body coiled in the chair with it's upper fox part leaning over the edge of the tab. There were several creatures like that, half and half, the Dutchman could spot the Indian Kirata who was half tiger, half human (top portion was tiger which was kind of weird) talking with the Maori Kopuwai who was dog headed and it's hominid body was covered in fish scales. There was also the Arabic Apkallu several well educated mermaids/mermen in a heated discussion with several Naga and Nigini, India's serpent people.

Going back to the purely animal creatures, there were several Slavic Puuk wandering around, having been sent on the behalf of the rest of their kin as they were the only dragons small enough to enter the room due to their ability to transform into a cat when on the ground. Harassing some of those cats (whose eyes promised murder) were some Wolpertinger from Bavaria, a small creature with wings, fangs and antlers. There were many creatures from the Middle East, from India there was the Karkadann, a white unicorn with the tail of a lion, three hooves per foot and a black horn, Yali which were creatures with the head and body of a lion, elephant tusks and the tail of a snake and the Dadhikravan, which were winged horses. From the Arab tales there was the Roc, a giant eagle with horns on it's head, the Senmurv which had the head of a dog, body of an ox and wings and the Imdugud which had the body of a lion, a double eagle head and wings.

The more hominid like were no less strange, there were the Brazialian, Curupira, a dwarf-sized humanoid with goat legs, horns and beard and one eye and large ears. Then the Slavic Vila which were female Wind/Storm spirits that can call forth whirlwinds, hailstorms and rain and appeared either in the form of swan/horse/wolf or in human form as beautiful, long haired, winged women. There were the Polish Rarog whirlwind spirits that can transform itself into dwarf or raven and Taxim which were vengeance driving corpses from Russia (three guesses who they wanted revenge from and the first two don't count). There was the Iroquois Faces of the Forest which were floating disembodied heads with long hair offering healing and medicine in exchange for food or tobacco and then the Abenaki Fire elemental the Ask-wee-da-eed. There was also the Eeyeekalduk from the Inuit stories, a benevolent little black faced spirit who inhabits a stone and heals the sick.

Being stuck in a room with these creatures and people would not have been so stressful, after all, they would not attack without provocation and could be reasoned with for the most part but, that wasn't everyone.

There was also a few demons that had chosen to not join up with her, the Moari Pitua and the shapeshifting Tipau, the Demon King from the Hindu tales, Ravanaa, the Japanese Oni who can fly and the Tahitian Pahuanui, the sea demon. There were also the Irish Formorians who are demonic giants associated with some power of nature, the Vadatajs, Latvian demons which cause people to lose their way in the wilderness, the Japanese Ten-Gu who were neutral bogeymen/tormenting spirits who could help or harm on it's mood and it's slightly more friendly companion, Samebito also from Japan, a black demon with green glowing eyes and a spike beard who cries precious stones. There were the Blatic Siela spirit-demons that posses inanimate objects and bring them to life, can do same with the dead, so presently there were a great many weapons and bodies from the morgue (not counting the Taxim) wandering around the room. Creepy. There were several Djinn scattered about, the Arabic humanoids were made of air and could transform into anything and were highly magical. They just looked fairly displeased about being in such a cramped room, which was alright cause the more evil of their kind probably would have blown them all up or something already. The last one, Morozo, a Slavic frost demon was not so bad, as long as polite, he wouldn't kill you but Lars had seen his handiwork around. Either way, they all radiated power and death and he was glad they were on his side.

Also on his list of dangerous creatures to stay away from were the Maero, the Maori wild people, hairy and unkempt, who and ate their food raw after stabbing it with long finger nails. There were also the Iruci from India, female ghouls, with long shaggy hair, seek battle and suck all blood out of wounds of the injured living. Then the Libyan Acephali whose heads are removable or lie in their chests and were not against the idea of cannibalism. Even worse was the Seneca Hagondes with it's long hooked nose and a too-wide childish smile stretched across it's face, it's appearance at first comical until Matthew pointed out that among his tribes it was known for kidnapping children, torturing them before eating them. Again, not really sure why he wasn't among the bad guys. There were many more that Lars would NOT like to cross, but pretty close to the top was the Rusalka that sat near him who was eyeing him. Which was not good. Rusalkas were Slavic water sprite that were souls of young women who died a heartbreak and/or a violent death close to a body of water and try to lure men to drown them, associating them with their pain. He scooted his chair just a bit closer to the Filipino Agta beside him, which was smoking a good quality cigar and Lars gladly breathed in the smoke.

Once the processions got underway, the Dutchman was able to lose himself in the discussion until...

" _So is everything understood?"_ asked Gilgamesh, standing up from his position at the head of the table. There were murmurs of assent as everyone bolted for the doors. There several envoys being sent out, to the dragons, the giants, sea monsters and others in hopes of convincing them to join their cause. Others were being sent to help with the defences, others to scout and more still to the forges and mines to help with the lack of armour and weapons situation.

The last group were being sent to try and hinder the mustering of Morgan's armies by harrying them. There would be those who were to seek out the jar rooms and break them, setting the imprisoned consciousnesses free then there were those who would hinder those who had not yet met up with the main force. The Dhampir in particular were selected to take on the vampires as the Slavic were undead and the children of vampires- mortal parent and vampire- and were trained in art of hunting and killing them. Others were chosen to take out the Japanese Centipedes, man-eating monsters the size of a mountain, the corpse-eating Jikininki, huge Kumo spiders and their troublesome web and Oni. Others were chosen to go take out the cannibalistic creatures, most of whom came from North America...(Lars looked worriedly over at Matthew) like the Seneca's Stonecoat who were earily similar to the Wendigo, Wendigo, the Abenaki's Tsi-noo, the Plains aboriginals's Hantceiitehi, the Inuit's Tammatuyuq and the Haida's Ulala. Beside them there was also the African Khoikhoi 's Aigamuxa and the Brazilian Boraro.

From their group Hong Kong and Romano were recruited to go search for the jar rooms, Prussia and Germany were selected to be scouts, Denmark, Feliciano and Netherlands were sent to be ambassadors for the last mer-city and Egypt, Ukraine, South Korea and Australia were part of helping to build the defences.

_The clock was ticking._

* * *

They had spent the past two days in America's panic room in the conference building in Boston and it was now the 9th at five in the morning, much to the joy of the severely sleep deprived nations hiding out there. For you see, soon after Tony dropped Russia, America, France, the Irelands, Scotland, Wales and England off, they had promptly been jumped by Belarus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, China and Mexico. Who, had they been moderately in their right minds, would not be considered an active threat (except for Belarus who should always be considered one if kept away from HER Vanya) as they were not much of military powers so while skilled weren't abnormally fast or strong but were now a deadly threat as none were willing to really fight back. So they had Belarus in all her psycho glory and knives, Congo wielding both the Kpinga and Makraka (of one of her native peoples, the Zande), China and his Hook swords and Mexico with the Aztecs Maquahuitl.

Just FYI, all of which were absolutely terrifying weapons, especially when there wasn't more then one lead pipe between the eight of them to protect themselves with.

Long and short of it...they ran.

After finding where the others had barricaded themselves in, they found out to their dismay that the second and third groups on their way from the airport (South Africa, Seychelles and Cuba and then Greenland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Portugal and the territories/provinces/counties that travelled with them)  had been ambushed. That left only the first Switzerland and Liechtenstein who took an economy flight rather then go with the Nordics and New Zealand who had a very long flight to himself to meet up with those who got a lift from Tony.

Essentially, America, Russia, New Zealand, the UK, South Ireland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and France and most of their provinces (+ those who were in the Fae world) as those still in their right minds. That was it.

Eight nations and their kids.

Following the discovery of their hiding place, America led them through a maze like labyrinth of hallways to his Panic Room and they had managed to go into hiding.

Though how long those numbers would remain correct was uncertain as about half of America's states had been travelling with the two ambushed convoys and had been lost to the enemy – seeing as the loss of the nation took out the provinces, they assumed the same could be said for the other way around. Which was true, he could already feel a foreign pressure on his mind. With Russia's guidance, he'd been repelling those  _probes_ (for lack of better word) but he was getting exhausted. This led them to the present situation.

**Bam**

_They_  were trying to break in and those trapped had all gotten very little sleep because of it. The sound of something else being thrown at the triple reinforced titanium-plexiglass-diamond hybrid door of doom that America had made in his spare time, just reminded those cornered just how dire the situation had become. The sounds of their former allies trying to break in had just sent the facts home that this was a shit situation. That and it was like being trapped in a ringing bell as the sound bounced of the smooth walls, giving them all a nasty headache in addition to being tired.

Frankly, America found himself to exhausted to care anymore, leaning on his former enemy-turned-into-something-fuck-it-was-too-early-to-think-coherently's shoulder, nodding off.

Russia on the other hand was thinking of something France had said to him on Tony's ship:

_~Flashback~_

_They were presently about halfway over the Atlantic Ocean and Francis and Ivan (the ship was on autopilot) were the only ones still awake._

_It was kind of cute, Scotland, Wales and the Irelands had ended up curling up together at the side, looking oddly similar to kittens in how they were all intertwined. Tony was dozing in the driving seat, England had fallen asleep leaning against Francis and Alfred had fallen asleep at the side but had gradually scooted closer to the warmth that emanated from Ivan, eventually curling around him._

_Ivan looked down at the mop of blonde hair fondly, the American could be rather endearing when he wasn't talking. After his boss Gorbachev's reforms which caused the USSR to fall apart, Alfred had been the one to help him pick up the pieces. Before he knew it, his most hated rival had become_ _important to him, like his_ _сестры;_ _he looked forward to the time they spent together whether it was_ _drinking, video games (Alfred refused to play Tetris with him anymore), chess, cooking, hikes or whatever, he was always entertaining._

_A smooth baritone voice jolted him out of his musings_

" _...If you do not mind me asking, mon cher, just what is Alfred to you?"_

_Ivan tilted his head, confused, and waspishly whispered back "Excuse me_ _Франция?"_

_Surprisingly unperturbed, the other continued "Alfred. Mon fils. What is he to you? Do not think I cannot see what is going on, I will not stand for you toying with him. Understand?"_

_Ah. Ivan relaxed somewhat but he was still confused. "I am afraid I do not understand. Toying? We are good friends. We...Как вы говорите?...chill out? Hang? He comes over to my house and we talk or go do something or I go to his house, we keep each other company, da?"_

_France just looked at him incredulously "...Really? Have you not seen the way he looks at you at times? The way you look at HIM when he is not looking? Both of you are so quick to notice danger but this?" France shook his head "Vous êtes paumé, lost and blind! Both of you cannot see, it breaks my heart."_

_"See what? My eyes work fine"_

" _My point exactly" Francis responded, shaking his head before quoting on his childrens author's most beloved books "Les yeux sont aveugles, o_ _n ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." At this the French man turned on the theatrical waterworks and did his best to strike a pose_ _without waking the Englishman who had slid down into his lap. "How sad that you both are so oblivious!"_

" _...Care to repeat that? Because I still am not happy with this problem or over your foolish actions with Napoleon and when I look at your stupid face I think of how much fun it would be to pound it into dust~" His dark aura came back and he could feel his hand twitch to grab his pipe._

" _Non non, it is not an insult per say, you are certainly not stupid but rather clueless about l'amour~ Battle plans, interrogation and what not, you are certain well schooled in but with the matters of the heart, you are like floundering fish! Personally, I think it is probably Mongolia's fault, her and her Genghis Khan that you are so clueless to your emotions. Barbarous lot they were."_

_Somewhat placated (insulting Mongolia for that time period usually did that), Ivan just grunted. The Frenchman however was not deterred "Honestly, think Ivan. Can you imagine life without him? Are you really so scared of letting someone in that you cannot see what is right in front of you?"_

_The conversation had ended there with a glare from the world's largest nation._

_~Flashback~_

_Hmm. What could France have meant?_

His thoughts were cut off by a crashing noise and then a series of very loud thumps.

Switzerland, highly irritated from lack of sleep marched of and none too gently woke the dozing Alfred "Oi! Habasch! Get us out of here or I'll shoot you for putting Lili in danger!"

"Nng. Gimme a sec"  _There was only the door though. Wait a second, this was one of the ones he had built during the Cold War, there was another exit! Woot! McCarthyism paranoia for the win!_

Staggering to his feet, Alfred stumbled over to the wall where he immediately began tapping on bricks, mumbling to himself as he did so in an effort to stay awake "Th's un? Tnah's noet. H'rre? Nae, noet neidrr." (This one? That's not. Here? Nope, not neither)

Grumbling, a rather sleepy Brit called out "What on Earth you doing boyo? Looking for Diagon Alley? Cause I hate to break it to you, but that's in England."

Turning to stick his tongue out at his former guardian, Alfred stumbled and in catching himself found the right brick.

"Ah ah ah, Iggy!" He said a bit more clearly and loudly, wagging his finger as he flipped the fake cover up and pushed the button underneath, causing a giant capsule popped up from the dirt. "'Member waaaaaay back in the 70's man when...when we 'ere worried that good ol' Vanya here." He gestured wildly in Russia's direction "was gonna nuke us? To oblivion? 'Mem'er? An' I...An' I built those escape tubes Iggy? And you said it was a dumb idea. Remem'er? I was there a-an' you were there? Good times. Gooooooood times."

"...You need to sleep, git, you're starting to act drunk. I don't think all of us can fit in there."

Pushing France, Scotland, Wales, South Ireland, North Ireland and New Zealand into the four person capsule, he closed the door and sent it off.

Immediately another popped into its place

"...and you said a second tube was an even stoooopider idea."

Flicking an annoyed, sleep deprived Englishman in the head while mocking him was never a good idea. Especially if your name rhymed with Prance or Erica. Just a bad idea really. "YOU! YOU BLOODY MORON! I'LL END YOU!" and with that Al found Arthur Kirkland sitting on him while his face met the ground.

_Why hello there ground, very nice to make your acquaintance. The pleasure is all mine I'm sure._

Thinking quickly as only the truly sleep deprived can, Alfred began to flail his arms about, shouting "Help! Help! I'm being oppressed! Come see the violence inherit in the system!"

And everyone in the room faceplamed as one while Alfred was rendered to incoherent babbling and giggling as his lungs fought to properly expand. Finally Ivan, taking pity on his poor friend, went over and lifted England by the collar and picked up the other (as one might a small child) who then promptly shouted "To the UN!" and then passed out on his shoulder.

Blissful quiet.

Over the next two hours all the remaining provinces and what not were evacuated until Switzerland, Russia, Liechtenstein, England and America got the last one out, heading towards Al's Panic room in New York (whaaaat? He had one in each state. Just in case.)

* * *

_Sleep_

_Glorious sleep._

America found himself floating in the blissful darkness. After all, staying awake foe two days straight was not fun especially as he had had very little before this

This was pleasant.

Or not. As a hissing voice sounded in the darkness along with a very disturbing laugh

_**You will be mine!** _

* * *

He jolted awake and it took him a few seconds to figure out where he was exactly, poking Ivan beside him, he said "How long have I been asleep for?"

"A few hours, try to go back to sleep, it is only eleven in the evening we have much to do in the morning and I do not wish to babysit again, da? You are more sober when drunk then when you are tired and infinitely more obnoxious."

"But...I can't. There's something there Ivan when I close my eyes and I feel myself losing a bit more each time I close my eyes."

A pause then, "Very well, I will stay up with you then, da?"

They sat there for a while in the dark, each lost in their own thoughts for several hours and together they watched as the sun began to peek over the horizon.

Suddenly, Arthur, Kathleen, Aneiren, Bruce and Pat all jerked awake as Alfred felt what could only be described as an electric spark run down his spine. France on the other hand just twitched and mumbled a bit before rolling over, Russia looked confused and Switzerland and Liechtenstein did not seem to have felt anything.

"EH?" "Wot!" "Whaaa?" "GAH!" "Ngh!"

Alfred, overriding the startled sounds from the ones just awakened, said "WHAT was THAT?"

Taking a steadying breath, England replied "I do believe that was some of the borders opening between the worlds, maybe three or four of them. The sensation is very similar to the one in which the links were severed so that would be my best guess."

"D-does that mean we can get Matt back?"

"No, all gates have to open for that to work and we don't have enough power to pull them through until the equinoxes sadly."

"Where's the last gate then?"

"Don't know lad."

"D-Don't KNOW! How are we getting them HOME then? Couldn't you have thought of this BEFORE you FAILED in sending me to an alternate WORLD and started this MESS?" asked America hotly. Sensing another fight Kathleen, Aneiren, Bruce and Pat went back to sleep, easily tuning the other two out.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, England muttered "It is far too early for this" before he answered "First of all, how was I to expect this should happen? Secondly, while I understand that this is mostly my fault, I would appreciate it if you would refrain from yelling at me for things beyond my control. The problem with this gateway is that it is a unifier, a combination of the other four. However the other stones are much more then just of Fire, Water, Earth and Air but also happen to represent other factors like Earth can be famine just as bountiful, Water can be life-giving hope or a hurricane, Fire can be war or a lightening storm, etcetera. Each are a combination of the natural world and of concepts and depending on which conditions are present, one can have more pull then the other. So depending on which gateway has more pull and which area best represents the conditions present, the fifth gateway will move. Because of this it is VERY HARD to TRACK DOWN all right? I have Broccos looking into it but beyond that, at the moment there is NOTHING I can do besides hope." With a glower, he turned his back to his former charge then stiffened.

His new change of position brought into sight the prone figures of the twelve trapped countries provinces, districts and whatnot into sight. "Sleeping" on Manitoba's chest was Kumajiro who just  _twitched and snorted,_ though he did not wake.

Exhaling an astonished "Blimey" England ignored America and wandered over. Yes, it was faint but it was there, the string that tied the nations together with their animal friends. Looking over at Brandenburg, he could also see the string connecting Gilbird nesting on the youth's head to his owner and looking at Queensland, he could see the one connecting the demonic koala to his son.  _The situation might be better then he thought if the connections were being remade, that little bit of movement is a wonderful sign._

"-Gland. *poke* Buuuuuuushy Brows! *poke* ENGLAND! HELLO~ *poke**poke**poke* Wakey wakey limey." Snap. Just like that America found himself reacquainting his face with the floor as England tuned back in with reality.

"WHAT is IT, GIT!"

"You totally started ignoring me in the middle of a conversation! So not-gentlemanly or whatever it is you claim to be these days and you say I'm the rude one!"

"You are, it is a rarity for you to actually listen to another person's opinion and not talk over them, I suppose I should cherish these days while they last. I will have you know that something has come to my attention that is rather important."

"What?"

"You have magic yourself, take a close look at Kumajiro, what do you see?"

A few moments of silence as the polar bear took America's scrutiny before he said "You attached some string to the poor little dude's neck? That's a dick move bro, he's not even yours."

"That string is what connects Matt and him you tosser, and I'll have you know that it was not visible yesterday. It's a rather good sign." Just then the bear twitched again to Alfred's astonishment "See?"

A grin of delight stretched across the worn out American's features.

There was a few moments of silence then America had an epiphany.

"Hey limey? I got an idea."

* * *

Yong Soo hoped he was doing right by this, after a few days of helping build the wall, he'd stumbled upon one of the Tapairu's pools. The Polynesian nymphs pools acted not only as their homes but were also gateways to the underworld. He had not yet truly used his totems power yet as he had been unable to find such a place...but he was nervous. He had left a note for Australia explaining his plan, had already performed Hamgyeong-do Manmukgut- his people's rite that was usually performed three days after a death to open the passage to the underworld, and had some protectionist charms with him. What could go wrong? Hehheh. A lot. He gulped. Then, steeling himself, he took a deep breath and jumped in.

* * *

As Yong Soo was doing this, all work ceased as Tigre Capiangos, Tlahuelpuchi and Zombies came over the ridge. A scouting group for Morgan and there were over two thousand of them. Those who should have been building instead stood facing the charging mob, weapons ready and mood grim. Within a few seconds the sounds of battle could be heard echoing around the area.

So the fight for the sake of both worlds began

* * *

**Most descriptions are in the text.**

**Tigre Capiangos-** Argentina- werewolf like except could turn into jaguars instead

 **Tlahuelpuchi** \- Aztec- Vampire, undead human that could turn into an animal and sustained itself on human blood

 **Zombie** \- Haitian- voodoo origins, is a soulless body that serves a sorcerer as a slave, could be soulless from having died or from having it removed by the sorcerer

* * *

_**Translations** _

_God verhoede_ (Dutch- God forbid)

 _сестры:_ (Russian- sisters)

 _Франция:_ (Russian- France)

 _Mon fils:_ (French- my son)

 _Как вы говорите:_ (Russian- how do you say)

 _Vous êtes paumé: (_ French- You are oblivious)

 _les yeux sont aveugles._ (French- the eyes are blind,

 _On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux._  (French- Only the heart sees clearly. The important is invisible to the eye. -from le Petit Prince)

 _Habasch._ (Swiss German- Idiot)


	21. Chapter 21

**AN-** **I mention several kinds of Native American masks later on and want to mention that false face ones that it is considered highly disrespectful to sell or display or mimic live false face masks (ones that have been used in ceremony) and among certain groups, any false face mask. This is why there have been many requests to museums (including a successful one to the ROM) to remove any such masks from their exhibits.**

**I own nothingggggggggggg (except da plot)**

* * *

After Yong Soo had gone through the Tapairu's pool was, he found himself on the Mahiki, the pathway that led to the one of the Polynesian underworld's, Lua-O-Milu, but as that was not his destination, he should go the opposing way right?

Right.

So he began his trek through the underworlds, he passed through Ekera, the Ethiopian shadowy underworld, crossed the five rivers that separate Hades from the world of the living and through Helheim. He ran through the Incan underworld of Uca Pacha, escaping the grasp of it's eternally hungry occupant and through the Japanese Yomi-no-kuni. After going through the Egyptian Duat and it's room for the judging of souls, he then stealthily snuck past the bickering Sumerian siblings Erishkigal (goddess of the dead) and her sister Inanna (goddess of love and war) over the death every year of Inanna's consort Dumuzi. After getting horrifically lost and barely managing to escape some truly terrifying and gruesome realms, he at last got directions from the fairly kind Celtic god of the underworld, Cernunnos, and finally managed to reach his destination. Now to ask for that favour...

* * *

Steven felt absolutely exhausted, it was only supposed to have been a scout group attacking them but even fighting off a small fraction of Morgan's army was absurd when you had a force barely equal to said scout group.

At least they had repelled it... Though he was not expecting Zombies to be able to move so quickly, not after all those films that Alfred had mass produced. Though there was a problem, he had managed to make sure that Katyusha and Gupta were alright and safe but he had yet to find Yong Soo. Hopefully he had not been injured, or worse,  _taken._

Rushing around the base frantically, he ran into the infirmary, hoping to find the Korean with a still healing Matt but there was no such luck. Hold on, what was this note?

_Australia,_

_I have gone to the_ _Underworld_ _in hopes of getting help. Please do not worry about me._

_한국_ _(Korea)_

Well, he hoped the other knew what he was getting into because there was no way to help him now. Now to track down Gupta and Katyusha again in hopes of coming up with some sort of plan between them. With the directions from one of the Ghosts who had seen them, Steven set off for the newly constructed stone battlements. Soon he saw Ukraine leaning against the wall, a bloody hand-print on one of the bricks and a slightly concerned Egypt beside her.

He explained that the two had been following his totems guidance, they had asked it what they could do to get home sooner and it had shown blood on the stone so that was what they did. When it lit up and runes covered the surface, Gupta realized it was similar to the one he had stumbled upon earlier with Hong Kong.

Before they could discuss the matter any further, the alarm sounded and they immediately ran to put on the armour and grab their weapons, the enemy was close.

* * *

Gilbert and Ludwig could not believe the size of the host coming towards the Resistance's base, and it was only a third of their enemies. For, Morgan's army was actually divided into three, with each part of the force approach from a different direction. When combined with the force coming from the sea, they were going to be completely surrounded.

If they didn't overwhelm them on the battlefield, she was going to starve them out.

A siege.

Running as quickly as they could back to the base, they gasped out their findings to Gilgamesh who paled at just what they described and when the other scouts came back and added their own pieces in onto the map it quickly became obvious that they were going to be fighting a hopeless battle unless their emissaries managed to garner them more allies.

From the sea, there was a force of hundreds of ships and several sea monsters such as the Leviathon, the Abenaki Alom-bag-winno-sis that loved flipping boats and the Chinese Shachihoko, a creature covered in poisonous spikes with the head of a tiger and body of fish that could transform into a tiger on land. In comparison they had exactly one hundred led by the legendary Samoan navigator Kahomovailahi and Odysseus and several Inuit Akhlutmeta-morphic killer whales that could transform into a wolf on land.

It was even more a helpless case on land, where they had maybe 3000 fighters, she had over 15000 and were composed of the deadliest creatures this world had to offer. There were Indian Manticore, fearsome creatures with body of a lion, face of man with three rows of teeth and a scorpion tail and the Gudanna, an Arabic bull that's poisonous breath could kill 200 at once. The Fijian giant, Flaming Teeth with it's teeth like burning logs and a taste for flesh there was also with several compatriots, Nunhyunuwi,the Cherokee stone man-eating giant, the Norse Geirrod, a Frost Giant and the Basque Tartaro a one eyed ugly giant. Besides the giants there was also the entire pantheon of Greek terrifying creatures such as the Nemean lion, Hydra, Erymanthus wild boar and Stymphalis carnivorous birds, all of which had caused many deaths. There were several Solovey-Razboynik as well, a Russian creature that lived in forests and killed people by screaming and Ihanaivulu, a south American seven-headed fire breathing monster. There was also the monstrous Basilisk serpents and Gorgans that marched with them, turning even allies into stone if they dared to look in their eyes. Besides these there were hundreds of Elves, Dwarves, Werewolves, Centaurs, Fauns, Griffins, Ghouls, Ogres, Trolls and Elementals.

Then, in the air she had about 2000 fighters from the Araucanian Chonchonyi, invisible vampires in the form of flying human heads to the Nihniknoovi from the Kawaiisu Tubatulabal people which were giant birds that loved to gorge itself on human flesh. She had Sirens, the part woman part bird creature capable of causing insanity with their songs, a few wyrms, the dragons' cousin. There were Simurghs from Persia, giant winged creatures similar to a peacock with the head of a dog and lion's claws, Herren-Surge from the Basque, giant seven-headed winged serpents and Pazuzus from Mesopotamia, terrifying eagle winged demons with lion claws and scorpion tails.

All of those named above were about a drop in the bucket though, there many more hideous creatures and beautiful grim ones, covered in blood marching to present them with their doom.

And they would be there in only a few hours.

Immediately, the base transformed further into a hive of activity, where before there was some work being done, it was now being pushed forward at a break neck pace, the walls strengthened, pit falls built, ammunition for the catapults and trebuchets were being brought in. All in all, they preparing to hold out for as long as possible.

* * *

"When you said you had an idea in mind, why did I even begin to think that it would be a moderately sane one?"

"I dunno Limey... But what's wrong with my idea?"

"IT'S BLOODY INSANE THAT'S WHAT!"

They were interrupted by a crashing noise from outside the panic room and the two froze as the others immediately woke up and stared at the door. A few moments later the sound of something solid striking the door was again heard. To think, just two days prior they had been going to meet the others in Boston and now had descended into this!

America hissed "They have found us!" His headache was beginning to return as that foreign pressure as again applied "England, there's no time for this! You know I'm right, this all started with you sending Matt to the other side so obviously that's where the fucking answers are! If we want to find out what the hell those creepy spiders are and how to defeat them and just what is going on with the others then we need to talk to someone from there! So far the only way we can do this with the borders down is through mine and Mattie's connection (That is Matthew's and mine! Speak proper English if you are going to lecture me git!) with, after he severed it, I can only find again through Kumajiro!" he finished with a huff.

"I understood that America when you explained to me your idea. However, the last time you managed to contact him you were informed that his body was no longer his to control and that he was under the influence of the enemy! If you try and contact him you may very well be walking into a trap or worse! At least address my concerns rather then just restate your previous argument!"

"England, you're thinking too much! How would she know?" He walked over to the tables where they had laid out all of the provinces/districts/territories and what-have-you to pick up Kumajiro. "C'mon  **Arthur** I need your help for this, I have no knowledge of this kind of magic"

After a moment or two of bickering, Vash had woken up enough that the argument was registering in his exhausted brain and had had enough. Getting up, he walked over to where the other two were, unnoticed, raised his arms and smacked the two upside the head simultaneously.

"England, America. I don't care for your unresolved past issues, if there is a potential to fully understand this situation, it is necessary to take it. After all", here he turned to America "knowing is half the battle is it not?"

Soon enough it was decided by vote that they should go through with America's plan. So Alfred went into a meditative state holding Kumajiro as England helped him follow the magical thread that bound the bear to Matthew. As the string crossed over, both nations attempted to continue to follow it but only Alfred was able to do so. Perhaps it was a twin thing or perhaps it had to do with how closely their nations were bound together, politically, socially and economically, it was uncertain. However, either way, Alfred was now the only one following the string to an enormous battlefield. Instead Arthur maintained their minds' contact so that he would at least be able to relay any information learned as Alfred slipped ever the deeper into his trance.

* * *

It had been a week since the siege had begun and Steven was astonished at how long the walls had held against the battering of the enemy. They had also had a surprisingly low casualty rate though this was probably due to the excellent defence conducted by their forces of Valkyries, Wolpertinger, Roc, Imdugud and the Oni against Morgan's aerial forces, preventing any of their soldiers from being carried off or destroying the catapults. They had also done a fair job at thinning the opponents down through the use of arrows and pouring pots of boiling oil down on them, in addition to the damage the trebuchets and catapults had done.

That being said, it was a freaking miracle and a half that they, the wall and their base were still standing though it was uncertain how long this would remain true. They had had a few ambush parties go out and do as much damage as they could but besides that, they were stuck in a defensive position which was only going to get worse as their naval forces were effectively routed and destroyed. By this time tomorrow, they would likely be able to land and there would be another few thousand fighters to worry about. Additionally, he could see the siege towers making their way to the wall. While they had managed to destroy their first few attempts at getting over the walls via ladders, the towers were an entirely different business being able to hundreds at once and were pushed forward from behind, they could not be just pushed off the wall, you had to take those pushing them down, which was easier said then done. Finally, there was the battering ram, despite all the reinforcements done on the gate, it could take maybe another ten shots before breaking.

_The Real Fight was going to just be beginning_ was all he thought, yet despite all his attention, he failed to notice the faint spiritual pressure sneak past him.

* * *

Following the trail, Alfred felt his heart skip a beat when he saw it led to a medical bay, just whatever had happened to the fun world he had explored in his dreams through his brother? It was now a disaster zone, there were trees being felled everywhere and great fires burning and those armies! While it was nowhere near the scale of the World Wars, the result of those two armies really clashing would likely bring about large scale disaster. While there was not much he could do, he still worried about this separate world. Maybe after this all blew over he figure out a way to send some sort of supplies to help them rebuild and regrow the devastated areas...

Following the thread, the finally found his brother's bed where Matthew lay sleeping, looking not sick but definitely not the most healthy he had ever seen the other. Good he was sleeping, it might make this easier. After a few tries he once again managed to slip inside the others dream, let's see just what could be garnered from this...

* * *

***CRASH***

Just as America successfully reestablished with his brother, the controlled nations managed at last to break into the room, which despite being just as well protected as the one in Boston had had an override that one of the more recent Presidents had insisted be installed just in case America locked himself in there over nothing and then refuse to come out. Somehow one of those controlled nations (he suspected Alfred's daughter Washington) had managed to find it and engage it so the first diamond-titanium alloy door just  _swung open_ for them and they just crashed through the secondary and tertiary iron and wooden doors.

_Ой пиздец! Принес_ _какой-то хуй Европу!_ Ivan quickly cursed to himself as Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Greece all came bursting through.

Joy.

Immediately Switzerland stepped in front of Liechtenstein while New Zealand protected their backs and Scotland, Wales, North Ireland and South Ireland went to go protect the counties and what-not. France went to protect England and America while Russia had ended up semi-trapped by the nations coming in as he had been sitting beside the door. Furious fighting sprung up, each person trying to protect something without the use of lethal force. After a few moments England's three brothers and sisters were overwhelmed by the combined forces of Hungary, Poland, Luxemburg, Portugal and Greece just as England bolted upright and shouted "Get their necks! Those little demons controlling them latch onto the back of their necks, slash there!"

With a sort of sadistic pleasure, Switzerland, France and Russia complied, rushing forward just as England hurried over in an attempt to help his siblings, leaving a still out-of-it America undefended for but a moment. But that moment was all Spain needed as he dashed forward, halberd at the ready. Russia seeing this, reacted immediately, unconsciously, going to go shield what was inexplicably precious to him despite the fact that he would be taking the injury instead. However just before the blade came in contact with his skin, a very angry screech came from above as a Bald Eagle, Freedom, dove from above, talons going for the eyes. As the other made a tactical retreat, Austria attempted to attack while the bird was busy but all it did was unleash an angrier scream as it's body changed form somewhat. It's eyes became fire, his glance lightening and his wings' motion filled the air with thunder, electrifying any who dared to get too close.

Looking over, Russia saw that despite this new information it was proving impossible for them to fend the others off for long especially as more nations appeared to take them on and replace the few that had fallen. Noticing that the attackers were ignoring those on the table and focusing solely on the cornered England, France, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, Russia picked up the American and the bear bridal style in hopes of not breaking the trance before running over to the others, Freedom protecting him from any oncoming attackers. In a split second's decision, Ivan then took his pipe and smashed a hole in the concrete floor, creating a hole big enough for them to slip through into the basement and hopefully make their escape.

* * *

They had broken through at last as thousands poured through the ruined gates. It was nearly impossible to tell which side was which as it was not as though there was any sort of uniform armour or species that was on one side. There were a few Grecian Amazon warriors here fighting several South American carnivorous Guirivulus, which have the body of puma, head of a fox and a tail ending in a claw. There were the Zulo's hominid lizards, the Intulo fighting goblins there. A griffin getting mangled by a unicorn over there. There were Djinn firing spells back and forth at one another and there, a minotaur attempting to fight a cyclops. There were Spartans doing battle against some Valkyries, Maori fighters taking on Oni, Ghouls against Nigini and Yeti against Wraiths. Everywhere there were thousands of battles as more of the wall was brought down and the invaders came rushing in. With the collapse of the wall, their aerial defence also collapsed and there were attacks from the air from everything from Vampires to monstrous birds to guard against.

It was absolute chaos and they were being overwhelmed.

Steven was about to panic when he heard a voice whisper in his ear "Miss me? Da-ze." Whipping around he saw standing there, a grinning Korean. "Wow, they can really through a party here, ne?"

Without waiting for an answer, the sound of a sword being drawn beside him rang through the air as Yong Soo shouted "Charge!" and from behind him came a giant host of ghostly figures who just rammed into the invaders...

"Yong Soo, what did you do?" said Steven in awe.

"Nothing much, I just unleashed some of the dead. You know, some aboriginal tribes, the Viking Einherjar and a few others, no big deal."

"...So you say." responded the Australian with a shake of his head before running forward to join the battle again.

Seconds after that, there were the shrieks of dragons as they dropped from the skies, engaging in aerial battle and all the way from the resistance's base you could hear Denmark's wild cackle (and Italy's call of "For Pasta and For Glory" and Germany's facepalm) as his army of sea monsters and mer creatures engaged the enormous fleet and it's protectors.

The Ambassadors had been successful and were coming back, perhaps they could rout the witch's forces yet! The Ambassadors had been successful and were coming back, perhaps they could rout the witch's forces yet!

From the forests to the East, a fairly large ragtag group came bursting forth and attacked Morgan's forces from behind. All sorts of great and terrible creatures, some good and pure like the Chinese Ki-Lin a deer with a horn, ox tail and fish scaled body, and others were frequently described as evil like the Adlet, the Inuit blood-drinking humanoid with dog legs.

However, if it is in your nature to do something, an instinct, something to sustain yourself, then should you be called evil for doing it?

No, not here anyway, for all kinds of "good" and "evil" creatures were fighting together in order to destroy the true evil, that which was taking away their freedom to choose. There were the Hawaiian Menehune, naked tricksters (though covered by long hair) with a mastery in magic battling beside Japanese Tanuki who fought alongside the horrific Slendermen. The Erinyes or furies depending, the female personifications of vengeance, punishers of oath breakers and personifications of the deads anger, their eyes dripping in blood with great bat wings were fighting beside nymphs.

And just like that, the tides of battle changed.

* * *

_Between the two of them, this mission w_ _as_ _essere cosa fatta. A done deal._ Thought his totem's speed and Kaoru's totems camouflage, they had easily snuck past and incapacitated the guards to one of the underground jar rooms that Matthew had given them the map to. It was amusing, at one point when they had been discovered by the two remaining guards, Kaoru had just gone completely pangolin before curling up, after which Romano hurled him at the two with a shout of "Strike!"

Then they got to an enormous room with about Four Thousand jars or so in them, now was time for the best part.

Destruction.

Evil grins sped across their faces as they knocked shelves over, took baseball bats to them and just generally massacred any and everything in that room.

Now time to see how the other two teams did before running back to the battlefield.

* * *

After they had descended, their enemies had not taken long to find them and they were running blind. England and New Zealand had been grabbed by France who was directing them around with the help of his bat totem but shortly they came to a dead end. Hearing a shuffling sound behind her, Liechtenstein immediately tackled Vash as the sound of a wok passed overhead. Realizing they now truly had no other option but to fight Russia gently lay America and Kumajiro against a boulder and drew his pipe. Perhaps if he beat them all into submission this entire problem would go away and his sister would be back.

"Кол кол кол кол кол!"

The others coming to a similar conclusion joined them after England magicked up some light.

* * *

As their allies joined into the fray, Morgan was in for a second surprise, one that it was certain she would like even less. Streaks of blue light could be seen shooting around the field, slamming into one person or disappearing into the distance. It appeared that the teams sent to liberate the imprisoned consciences had been successful as many of their enemies stopped fighting to grab their heads as if they had a bad headache, giving an ally the chance to cut of the spider talisman while everyone from the infirmary came charging out to join in the fighting.

Despite many of her own fighters turning against her and having her forces routed, Morgan continued to fight, a manic grin on her face as those who truly joined her of their own will, re-organized themselves and began to push back.

Gilbert somehow found himself face to face with one of the main reasons behind their problems, running in to defend Gilgamesh from her finishing blow and began trading blows with her. She was no match for a former personification of an order of knights and now retrained in so many styles of fighting he had her on edge. However as he fought, he could not help but find her familiar, the witch apparently felt the same as she demanded through clenched teeth  _"How do I know you cur?"_

" _Tsk tsk, your ladyship that's hardly kind of you. Formal manners demand that you introduced yourself first."_

" _Insolent peasant! I'll have you know that you are addressing Morgan Le Fay, the one who should have been England!"_

Gilbert froze for a moment, though quickly recovered. That had never occurred to him before but she had shown up in their histories at just that right time...she was the one who was supposed to  _replace_ Arthur as the personification of England if Mordred had succeeded. That meant...

" _Well, I'll have YOU know that you are addressing the great awesome me, the awesome former kingdom of Prussia and now East Germany, at your service."_ he added with a sneer.  _"I suppose all of this is because you are throwing a hissy-fit that you lost and want to try again despite the fact that hundreds of years have past?"_

At that, she froze and stared which he took as his opportunity to dart in and stab her while he mocked " _So it's true then. Aren't you a sore loser?"_

Despite the freely flowing chest wound, she eagerly began trading blows again.  _"You do not understand. It was supposed to be MINE. That old fogey and his king were on their way out, they had no concept of how the world worked. It would have been so simple had the Fae not intervened! They are the only reason that that incompetent twat won! It was rightfully ours!"_ Snarling she tried to slash him but Gilbert just turned past her as he said  _"I understand, more then you could know but you can't dwell on the past, it gets in the way of the present."_ With that, he ran her through from behind, though as he did so, he was shocked as the sword grew and became a two handed sword, the letters Excalibur clearly seen etched into the blade.

Drawing his blade back out, Prussia failed to notice her smug look and where she was looking until it was too late.  _"You ruined my dreams, let me return the favour!"_ Darting forward before he could even react, she stabbed the figure behind him through the side before collapsing. Her forces upon seeing their leaders death began to retreat and fell prey to the resistance who chased after them but that was not Gilbert's focus. No, his eyes were solely focused on a mop of blond hair framing wide purple eyes.

_Why was Matthew on the battlefield in his state?_

* * *

After Alfred had told him what he had seen outside, Matthew could not lay idle and had struggled to his feet before he then grabbed a sword to go join the fray, Alfred watching from inside his mind, giving him a heads-up on an enemy and such. They had just taken out a troll when they heard behind them "... _return the favour!"_ and then all he had felt was an enormous pain bloom in his side, Alfred echoing his scream in their joined minds as he was injured at the same time through their connection, disappearing a few seconds later from his mindscape. Then he collapsed against a nearby boulder which then lit up with many runes and began to draw power from him.

_Shit. Shit shit shit shit._ Was all that Matthew could think as he felt the magic being drawn out of him, this wound was dangerous enough on his own, what had he done that had pissed fate off so much?

_~Flashback~_

" _Your magic is bound by some old, very powerful magic, if you draw on beyond a small amount, the defensive aspect will activate and the seal will kill you"_

_~End Flashback~_

_Well, fuck. Looks like this is it, this stone is pulling out too much._ He thought seeing black runes and symbols appear all over his skin. Looking up and seeing Gilbert's panicked face, he mouthed "I'm sorry" before he grabbed for some of the pent up power being pulled from him (centuries worth) and reaching around with his mind, grabbed each of his friend's auras and pulling them through the newly opened gate.

* * *

It was astonishing how quickly things happened, Arthur would later think. Barely a second after Alfred suddenly opened his eyes with a yelp and began bleeding from a stab wound on his chest, he slumped again into unconsciousness. As this happened a glowing alerted them all of the re-activation of a gatestone, the same rock that America was leaning against. As Russia leaned over the other protectively as the others attacked, Kumajiro on America's lap, the bear's eyes OPENED and spoke the three words that signalled the beginning of all the chaos.

"They are coming."

Simultaneously, as those words were uttered all the attacking nations froze before collapsing, joining Alfred in la-la land.

"Ach zum Teufel?" breathed Liechtenstein, not relaxing her grip on the fold-up chair she'd found and had been using as a weapon, Switzerland looking similarly stunned beside her. Actually, scratch that, they all looked rather stunned by this surprising turn of events- their enemies downed, the last gate, America's return to unconsciousness and the bear talking.

Immediately after the threat was gone, Russia gently picked up America and quickly climbed back up into the panic room in order to treat the gaping, bleeding wound in the others side began to others follow, each carrying one of the unconscious nations.

Then he felt something that made his hair stand on end, with the last gatestone restored there had been a minor surge of magic similar to what had woken them up previously but this was one another level entirely. Pure, RAW magical power crackled through the air as a great white wolf charged into existence, leaving a swirl of winds behind it, forming a portal.

As this happened, Kumajiro ran forwards and stared at the mass of swirling air and magic expectantly, Gilbird joining him, nesting in his fur. The Aussie's koala bear, Germany's Aster, Blackie and Berlitz and the Netherlands rabbit also sat nearby, watching. That could only thing to Arthur's mind, somehow the others had managed to open a stable portal and were coming through.

Not even daring to move or even breathe, those who remained among the living (in the awake sense), watched as first a bloodied hand emerged followed by an arm and then just a mass of people fell out onto one another.

"MATTHEW!" cried a desperate voice. Gilbert. not even looking at the conditions of the others began pushing and throwing them up until he got to the bottom of the pile. When Arthur saw what lay there, he swore he stopped breathing for a moment.

There in a quickly forming puddle of blood was his former colony Canada with an identical chest wound to America's but what scared England the most was the inky-black symbols covering his body. From what he could recall, it was an ancient sealing spell, something confirmed by the runes dotting the skin between the symbols, which were lethal when their condition were broken.

Panicking, he shouted them all back into better light and where the medical supplies were. In those seconds, he took in all of their appearances. All of them were wearing clothes reminiscent of their tribal days and their expressions were somewhat haunted as they frequently were after wars and none of them were uninjured, though there was nothing too serious to be looked at. Despite the few descriptions provided by Alfred, he could only wonder what on Earth they had gone through, even Katyusha's face was battle hardened.

Sending Francis and Liechtenstein to begin first aid on the others, Arthur lay Matt down on one of the cots, and he and Vash (the Red Cross came from him after all) immediately began checking his ABC's - **A** irway, **B** reathing and  **C** irculation – however Matt was not breathing nor did the Canadian have a pulse, in fact, his body was starting to cool. Not good. As Vash began CPR, Arthur looked over at where the provinces were, all were present, some even beginning to wake, Queensland even running over to where Steven was being treated. However for Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut were gone while Saskatchewan and Alberta were nearly completely transparent while Yukon was just beginning to fade. In a moment, utter fear grasped him when he saw that Kumajiro was gone, not just not around gone but as in vanished gone with Canada being legally dead, his provinces beginning to fade and his companion had vanished, things were not looking promising. The only bright side was that on this side if Matthew did disappear, his land wouldn't sink/be destroyed but rather would descend either into civil war or be snapped up by a neighbouring country, though is they were lucky perhaps he would be reborn instead...

Prussia must have noticed the defeated look on his face because he shook off France's attempts at bandaging his wounds and ran over.

* * *

Gilbert was scared. This was something as it was not ever something he would normally ever readily admit being, even to himself at any point, but this? He had thought the other lost twice now and was now dying (he refused to even think that other word) in front of him. What could he do? He would do anything, ANYTHING, to see those purple eyes open again.

_Anything?_  A voice echoed around in his head and in his mind's eye, he saw his totem, the little orange bird staring at him.

_Yes, YES! Anything!_ He thought desperately as Arthur slumped and Vash stopped CPR as Matthew began to go clear and Saskatchewan, Alberta and Yukon vanished while P.E.I, B.C, Northwest Territories and Manitoba could barely be seen.

_You'll do just fine_ it responded after a moment's pause while it felt like it was looking at his intentions. Which it very well could be, after all, it was part of his soul. With that the bird's form began to twist and grow

In his mind, Gilbert could do nothing but gape at his fully grown totem as it explained what he must do.  _Now knowing what the consequences will be, are you sure that this is still your wish?_

Without hesitation, the albino answered  _Ja._

* * *

Gilbert immediately set about gathering his companions around the fading Canadian and told them to set up for the healing ceremony that Shin'ari had taught them way back to heal their kind. It was based off of the traditional ceremony but as they were more then human another ring had had to be added to strengthen it and the first ring's attributes would have to be reassigned. They were more then flesh and bone so while the first (original) circle was still based off the elements Earth, Air, Fire and Water which would help heal their persona, the added second circle was based off the Cardinal Directions. The directions not only included, well, location but also encompassed the seasons and the power given in it would strengthen the land. The difference between this healing ceremony and the one they would perform, he explained, would be within the other two circles there would be a third where the two Italys would be acting as Balances and provide a barrier while he left his role a secret. Without question, as time was of the essence (though there were a few questioning looks), the others got in position and brought out their totems to help with the spell weaving, ignoring Arthur, Francis, Lily and Vash's questions.

Gupta, Kaoru, Lars and Katyusha formed one large circle, with Mathias, Ludwig, Steven and Yong Soo in a smaller second. In the third circle sat Romano and Feliciano opposite one another with Matthew and Gilbert in the centre.

It began when Egypt stepped forward and as soon as he began to move a magical circle (looking similar to a transmutation circle) appeared and began to glow under him. Each motion that followed was done with deliberation, though each gesture was sharp, moving his arms and sliding his feet from one stance to another as he began to chant. His spirit jackal moved around his feet, adding it's power to the spell. Soon the ground surrounding him began to respond to his movements, the ground rising and falling as his jackal took on more earthy tones until with a last gesture of his arm it became complete stone. Following Gupta's shout of " _Earth",_ the creature jumped and as if it hit an invisible barrier, it's body compacted, leaving only a stylized jackal head to hang suspended in the air.

As soon as his movements stilled, Lars stepping forward, lighting his pipe as he did so, and activated his own circle. He too began to perform a sort of dance but his movements were a direct opposite of the Egyptians - where Gupta was solid, Lars performed very light movements, feet barely touching, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. His otter totem twined it's way around his feet as it also danced, chasing after the smoke. As his steps began to speed up ever so slightly, he started to chant while his right hand took the pipe. It was fairly easy to see with the smoke clinging to the Dutchman like a second skin, how each motion with his hand or foot created minor little zephyrs or whirlwinds. Taking the pipe again in his mouth, he made a smoke ring which his totem took within itself, dissolving partly into the vapour. He then shouted  _"Air",_ after which the otter curled within itself and turned into a similarly styled floating head.

Following him, Hong Kong stepped forward and another circle appeared under him. His movements were rather quick and fierce, looking more like a dance. His movements were filled with leaps and quick gestures, twisting and turning as though he was incapable of staying grounded or facing one direction, his totem mimicking him exactly. He also began to chant and soon flame followed his every movement, like entrancing ribbons they floated through the air while his quick gestures with his hands produced sparks until with a jumping snap kick he shot a ball of flame into the air where the Pangolin jumped, fusing with it. As Kaoru shouted  _"Flame!",_ the ball of flame uncurled in mid air, leaving a fiery floating pangolin head in it's wake.

Finally Katyusha stepped forward and her circle lit up, her face filled with determination, no tears to be seen. Her movements were a bit slower but were fluid, performing a series of complicated steps while making it look effortless, as though she was gliding, dancing around her totem. With each step, the water she was drawing from the air and manipulating grew and followed. Soon the bear rose onto it's hind legs as she drew both arms out in front of her and with a snap of her wrists she left a mini-rivers floating in the air which the bear dove into, merging with it, giving the water's its power. With her cry of _"Water",_ the totem left behind a suspended watery bear head.

With her shout all of the four circles expanded to meet the others and encompassed the others in their glowing and as they did each totem head flattened before dropping to the ground into the spaces left behind by the circle completing it. With that, the circle flashed briefly and began to glow blue while the next circle inside of it began to emit of soft white light. Their part done, the four sat cross-legged and concentrated on continuing on providing energy and magic to keep the spell going.

This next part was interesting and they were were very lucky that they were able to meet the requirements, as because attributes were connected to the cardinal directions, those embodying each point had to be South of or East with respect to the country of Canada. All points except for North were easy to fulfil but that concern had been quickly passed when it was realized that Denmark would technically count because of his holdings in Greenland.

Denmark then stood in front of the Earth symbol and began to move, acting out the fierce blizzards of the North, cold snaps and the long months of scavenging, of winter. His movements were slow but fierce and strong, with a hint of desperation and fear adding a certain savagery to it. As Mathias began to chant, then Korea stepped forward to the Western mark in front of the air symbol and also began to move, his actions energetic, mimicking the renewal of the Earth, showing the joy of growth, of rebirth as the cold receded and the life giving rain that comes, of spring. Soon after, Yong Soo's movements also gained strength and he began to chant as well, which was when Steven stepped out in front of the fire symbol for the Southern point and began to move, his motions were unhurried, calm but showed hidden strength; his movements promising the planting of crops, of hard work, of plenty with the warning of heat and storms, of summer. Lastly, as the others continued to weave their magic, Germany stepped into place for the Eastern point in front of the water marker and joined in. His actions were somewhat hurried, not like Yong Soo's but rather with with a sort of need, his action promising the harvest, the preservation of food to provide in winter, the falling of the leaves, the turning of weather, of the fall. Once he also joined in the chanting, their movements matched up and, after shouted the direction they were representing, they summoned their totems. Mathias's killer whale flew forward to meet Steven's Tasmanian devil, Ludwig's German Shepard and Yong Soo's fox ran together and fused to form the compass rose, which then fell to the ground completing the second circle.

As the four of them sat cross-legged as well and focused their magic, the circle flashed and began to glow a pale green.

* * *

Meanwhile, Arthur and the others were stunned by the turn of events, Matthew's wounds had healed, though he was still transparent and same went for his remaining provinces and territories. Only New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Québec and Ontario remained and they were only barely there. What were they trying to do? As loathe as they were to admit it, the boy was gone...

* * *

As soon as the second circle was completed, Feliciano and Romano had done their job of creating two barriers, one between the first two circles and them and then one in between them and the third circle. They would prevent anything from leaking out and disrupting the first two circles while also keeping the magic fuelling Matthew's healing from being disrupted by what Gilbert was going to do.

Gilbert took a deep breath, steadying himself and began to dance. While what the others had done earlier was more of a series of motions interconnected to increase the power of what they were doing, Gilbert was actually dancing, each movement having a specific purpose behind it, nothing was wasted. Then he began to chant as well but unlike the others, what he said was not in the tongue of the world from which they had just come but was rather dictated by his totem in his presently favoured tongue, making the magic stronger. With each word though, those who understood German began to worry as to what exactly Prussia was doing.

Ich steh vor deinem Altar   
Weiss nicht wer ich bin, wer ich war.  
Diese Welt mich nicht liebt   
Wie gnadenlos die Zeit vergeht

Here Germany paled looking somewhat upset and more and more nervous, he did not like where this was going, especially with the magical power being focused by those words and movements.

wie sich der Zeiger dreht   
unentwegt  
Er steht nie still

Little will o' the wisps appeared around the two, some hovering around the prone body, others interacting with Gilbert's twists, turns and leaps.

Er ist weg.   
Siehst du mich?  
Hörst du mich ?   
  


Those little floating flames then began to merge together and move, floating around the Prussian

Was hab ich dir getan?   
Warum zerstörst du mich?   
Diese Welt ist sehr leer.   
Ich biete dir mein Leben 

At those words, all present who knew German looked at him astonished and Ludwig attempted to get up, to go stop him but couldn't move while the spell was still in effect, being woven and as part of it, could only watch helplessly.

Schmerz und kummer mich verzehrt   
Nimm mich mit.   
Aus dem Dunkel.   
Ich schenke dir mein Leben   
Wirst du ihm es geben?  
Jeder wartet.   
Tod!

Those little flames were now large burning flames and had settled in a floating circle around Prussia's feet, growing with each word

Was willst du von mir?  
Nennen Sie Ihren Preis   
Das letzte Urteil beruht   
Um die Zukunft und eine tödliche trinken. 

With that last word, the fire took shape and took off, becoming a giant flaming bird, it was about the size of an eagle, it was mostly a red-orange, orange and gold, with long colourful tail feathers. Wheeling about, it banked and dove straight for Gilbert who stretched out his arms as if in welcome.

Mein Leben ist Deine, nehmen Sie es!

And the bird consumed him in flame.

* * *

Staring at the spot where his brother once stood, Ludwig was overwhelmed with horror, he barely registered the sensation of his land expanding and him growing an inch or two. He was now Germany. No more East. No more West. He embodied all of it, but felt no joy in the joining. His brother was gone, the bird burning him up before diving into Matthew. The glowing of the circles gone, he once again tried to move but was again unable to, surprisingly the spell was still in effect.

Outside the circles, the others stared in horror the events in the circle and at the table that had once housed Matthew's thirteen provinces and territories but was now empty.  _This had gone from one disaster to another,_  Arthur thought  _and it's all my fault...but how could I have forseen this doom? And even after all that_ he thought looking closer at the figures  _he is still not breathing and is nearly completely transparent. Bollocks._

* * *

Gilbert opened his eyes, he was in a large white space with the wind whipping around and field as far as the eye could see. Was this what the nation's afterlife looked like? Perhaps he could see Old Man Germania again. Ah well, there was time to explore later. He needed to track down Matthew.

After what felt like an eternity of searching he heard it, a haunting voice on the wind:

_In Flanders fields the poppies blow..._

He was over there.

_...Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly, Scarce heard amid the guns below._

Running over endless grass he came to a field of poppies and there in the centre lying among them was his Matthew. Slowing he walked over, doing his best not to trod on the flowers

_W_ _e are the Dead. Short days ago, We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields._

Reaching the Canadian, he was startled to see him just lying there, not even having noticed his approach, arms crossed over his chest, he looked like he could be in a suit in a lovely wooden box about to be lowered six feet under. Now, how to wake him from his stupor?

_Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from failing hands we throw. The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow, In Flanders fields._

_That was it!_ He had visited Canada on his birthday once and had had to track him down to Newfoundland where he was surprised not to see celebration but rather a more solemn air. As he found out, here they held another remembrance day, Memorial day, in honour of those who had died in the Somme. The Somme, das Blutbad as it had become known among the Germans. On the first, the Newfoundlanders had lost 90% of their fighters in Beaumont Hamel with only 68 people turning up the next morning for role call. He had found Matthew that day holding the fully grown man, now his son, in his arms and reciting this at him, it had helped comfort John then, perhaps it would help bring Matthew back from the brink.

Taking a deep breath, he began, his voice overriding the haunting one on the wind

_We have kept faith, ye Flanders' dead, Sleep well beneath those poppies red, That mark your place. The torch your dying hands did throw, We've held it high before the foe, And answered bitter blow for blow, In Flanders' fields._

It appeared to be working as Canada opened his eyes, though they were glazed over, staring at something Prussia couldn't see

_And where your heroes' blood was spilled, The guns are now forever stilled, And silent grown. There is no moaning of the slain, There is no cry of tortured pain, And blood will never flow again, In Flanders' fields._

Yep it was definitely working as the other sat up and regained some colour in his cheeks. Crouching down, he enveloped the other in a hug as he finished.

_Forever holy in our sight, Shall be those crosses gleaming white, That guard your sleep. Rest you in peace, the task is done, The fight you left us we have won. And "Peace on Earth" has just begun_

Just as he began to say the last sentence, he heard another voice join his own

_In Flanders' now._

"G-Gil? What?"

"Did you really think you could get rid of me so easily?"

"Wh-No? I wasn't trying to get rid of you...or I don't think I was, was I?"

Chuckling at the others confusion, Gilbert said "I would imagine you did think so, though Death is no obstacle for the great me, ja?"

"DEATH!"

"Yeah, you're dead Matt" Gilbert said, his voice soft now "I'm here to bring you back."

"But...That's not possible! In any story where they bring the dead back to life it doesn't work or the person become a vampire or zombie or something! The dead are meant to stay that way!"

"Well, they failed because they didn't have the awesome me there. And you are NOT supposed to BE dead! Your country is healthy and prospering, your people strong (if lacking backbone at times) and you haven't been taken over! We are not normal humans Matt, I can send you back. Ready?"

"Ready for whaAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Just then he felt himself take flight as a large bird swooped in and grabbed him in it's talons. Looking down he saw Gilbert waving at him, why wasn't he coming with him?

"Gilllllllllllllllll!"

Watching the Canadian become but a dot in the sky, he whispered "Goodbye Matt." After all, he could not follow, he had sacrificed his identity as East Germany to come here and as such could not return to the world of the living anytime soon "I better not see you back here for some time Birdie"

Walking off, he was startled when he felt a tap on his shoulder  _"Not yet, you cannot go there."_

* * *

Not even a full minute after the bird's flames consumed his brother, Matthew had completely faded away into the air. Was everything for naught? Their suffering in the other world, his brother's sacrifice? It was just not fair! Though he reminded himself  _But whoever said life is fair? Where was that written? Life isn't fair._ He had only been reunited with his brother with what only felt like weeks, though it had been decades and yet he was snatched away from him again...

"Gil..."

Suddenly a deep drumming noise came thrumming through the air, methodical and steady and within the empty circle a small figure in a black cloak seemed to just to jump up from the ground and began to dance to the beat.

The dance was a simple one a few shuffle steps forward in back with the figure doubling over at some points. Then the sound of rattle joined in the the deep beat and another figure in black jumped up to join the first, their dance shifting to a more energetic one with quick turns and wider steps. This trend continued with as with each new instrument joining in (box drum, bells, foot drums, wooden flutes, whistles, rattles, end-blown flutes, etc) another figure would join in the dance and their movements would change until there were fourteen figures simultaneously leaping, twirling and moving around to the beat.

After a moment or too all of their movements changed, each cloaked figure now moving separately, still moving perfectly with the constant drum beat. Each figure's dance was reminiscent of an animal's movements- the deer's jump, the puma's prowl, the snake's slithering and the bird's flight. With this, the others could finally see their faces as the hoods of their cloaks fell off displaying the beautiful masks all of them wore. Two bore the elaborate cedar dance masks of the West Coast tribes, another the Iroquois wooden false face masks and yet two more wore the ceremonial corn husk mask. There was one bearing the Hamatasa mask, another an Ancestral mask, one a Wolf mask, another a Raven and one a Thunderbird mask. There was also one wearing a Tsonokwa, another an Inuit caribou Hide mask and two more the Yup'ik mask. There were feathers woven in their hair which ranged in all possible colours: from white to blond to red to brown to black. As they danced, they slowly grew, some gaining the height of a pre-teen, others the height of someone in their late teens.

For the first time, the steady drum beat began to speed up and with it, so did the dancers movements, the weight of the spell woven could be felt despite the barrier that the Italian twins were still holding. A fog of sorts began to swirl around the figures, slowly taking form one by one to join in the dance. The first to solidify enough to distinguish what it was, was a loon, which flew across the circle just as another bit of the fog solidified enough to discern a snowy owl which flew to the opposing figure that the loon had flown too. The next one was the Duck-Tolling Retriever which nearly bowled over the little Black-capped Chickadee as it raced over to one of the dancers. The little bird made it's way to the figure beside them while a great Bison appeared next, charging forward, followed by an Arctic Grayling which swum through the air. The Kermode bear or Spirit Bear was the next to solidify from the smoke, with the Blue Jay and Raven springing up shortly after, each making their way to a dancing figure. A White Tailed Deer, the Big Horned Sheep and Caribou were next until all but two had some sort of smoky animal dancing with them until, at last, an Eskimo Dog and Eagle appeared to join the last two.

Next each of the figures sketched into the air some sort of symbol that resembled the creature dancing with them as the music intensified. With a great shout, they all stamped their feet down and then there was a bright flash of light followed by a wave of power as the barrier broke.

* * *

**Einherjar** \- Norse- the great heroes who have died with bravery on the battle fields, every day the train by fighting each other until they are cut into pieces and are miraculously restored by nightfall to feast with Odin in Valhalla

* * *

The two poems mentioned, one of them is  _In Flanders Fields_ by Major John McCrae and the other is by Edna Jacques and is a response poem to the first and is called  _In Flanders Now_

* * *

**Translations**

_essere cosa fatta_ (Italian- A done deal. To have it in the bag)

_Ой пиздец! Принес какой-то хуй Европу!_ (Russian mat- no direct En. translation, best- Oh Fuck! Some dick brought all of Europe to the door)

_Ach, zum Teufel?_ (Ger- What the hell?)

_Ich steh vor deinem Altar / Weiss nicht wer ich bin, wer ich war. / Diese Welt mich nicht liebt /  wie gnadenlos die Zeit vergeht / wie sich der Zeiger dreht / unentwegt / Er steht nie still / Er ist weg. / Siehst du mich? / Hörst du mich ?/ Was hab ich dir getan? / Warum_ _zerstörst du mich? / Diese Welt ist sehr leer. / Ich biete dir mein Leben / Schmerz und kummer mich verzehrt / Nimm mich mit. / Aus dem Dunkel. / Ich schenke dir mein Leben_ _/ Wirst du ihm es geben?_ _/ Jeder wartet./ Tod!/ Was willst du von mir?/ Nennen Sie Ihren Preis / Das letzte Urteil beruht / Um die Zukunft und eine tödliche trinken. / Mein Leben ist Deine, nehmen Sie es!_

_(_ Ger- I stand before your altar / I don't know who I am or who I was / This world loves me not / how mercilessly time passes / how the hand turns / constant / It never stands still / He is gone / Can you see me? / Can you hear me? / What have I done? / Why are you destroying me? / This world is so empty / I offer you my life / Pain and grief consumes me / Take me out / Out of darkness / I give you my life / Will you give him his? / Everyone is waiting / Death /What do you want from me? / Name your price. / The last judgement rests / To the future and a deadly drink / I give you my life.)

 


	22. Chapter 22

**AN-** **When I first posted this on fanfiction. net I had a number of comments in the beginning on how they liked the history they were getting from this and as I am a history student and memory has played an important part in this, I thought, "Why not?" So I am filling in the missing pieces while still writing possibly the most abridged version of my country's heritage I've ever attempted. I tried to go over in more depth areas that weren't too common in Hetalia fanfiction so there isn't going to be a lot on say the fall of Québec and the American Revolution. (In the beginning, it's referring to the Beringia Ice bridge theory which suggests at one point there was a temporary land bridge between Asia and Alaska which allowed people to cross and settle the Americas somewhere between 100000-10000 years ago. Quite a bit of debate surrounds this but it is why I've concluded Matthew to be older then Alfred)**

**I OWN NOTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGG!**

* * *

_Funny, the last thing he remembered was being in America' s panic room, watching in despair as his pauvre Mathieu and one of his greatest friends/enemies disappeared and now he found himself standing in this bleak landscape surrounded by ice and snow, the sun shining high overhead._

_Hang on... Where were his clothes? Not that he minded showing off his lovely body with the world but it was subarctic temperatures here, he would quickly be hypothermic...or at least he should have been he suddenly realized._

_How strange._

_Looking down at his hands, he realized he could not make out any of the details, the lines, callouses or scars that normally crossed his palms. Hmm. It appeared his body was made out of energy, a sort of light form. Looking around he could see the others floating around in a similar state, which was really too bad as Angleterre had such a nice figure and Artur could hardly curse him out when this was not his fault and his eyes were...wandering._

_Just then a bit of movement caught his attention as a small figure tottered out from beneath a snow mound, stretching his wee legs, before gathering up his few belonging and walking out across the landscape. The figure was barely more than a toddler, maybe three at the most, with tan skin and raven black hair sticking out from under the furs wraps with wide purple eyes staring out at his surroundings. With a mental gasp Francis realized, this was Mathieu. Which was impossible, he thought as he watched the little child approach a nomadic group, judging by their garb, their features and weapons, this was thousands of years ago..._

_Non, it could not be true. The boy must be the one who had come before Canada._

_The years passed by in a flurry as people came across the great gap and settled, heading farther and farther south to escape the ice, the little boy following them. At one point, the little boy (who had aged maybe a year) gave a small jolt and ran away from the group to a group of sparse trees where, to the astonishment of the watching nations, there was another tot, maybe two years old, sitting at the base of one of the trees. The child was similarly dressed as the first child, with no scarf covering his face, his wide sky blue eyes and infectious grin instantly recognizable to them though this child also had dark-ish tan skin and black hair._

_'...C'est impossible, this is far too long ago for him to exist. I do not think even the pyramids have been made yet!' Francis breathed._

_America near him spoke up 'No, that's me. That was when I first met Mattie though I remember him being a lot bigger then that...'_

_England piped up 'But how is that possible?'_

_'You know that we do not grow past toddlers until the people start to band together and get some sort of collective identity – culture, language, the whole sh-bang – and we don't look like pre-teens until we have some sort of collective government. Neither of which we really had, there were the villages but no real sort of identity until the Iroquois Confederacy so when you Europeans arrived, we were able to adapt rather then have another one of our kind be born to replace us... Man, we had some good times before you guys came along.'_

_And so they did. They had been left behind when Matthew wandered off as the others were far too accustomed to the non-ageing child coming and going as he pleased. The two raven haired children ran playing in the enduring forests, Matthew teaching Alfred what he knew about hunting and survival as they travelled all the way to the roof of the world (which Al found too cold), the two often hitching rides with local wildlife to reach their destinations. As they travelled farther south, Matt then began teaching Alfred all the Shaman techniques he learned and how to bring forth his spirit companion after finding out what it was through the Vision Quest. On the way they had found a curious polar bear cub and after they found he was like them, unaging, so they took him along with them._

_They had no names for each other, they didn't need any, they already had too many given by the different groups that were settling in their lands and calling it their own. They just had that bond, the one calling them together as brothers. After several years, as the ice began to recede and their people stopped roaming and began to settle, the two parted parted ways to go intermingle further with their people. At this point they looking to be about five, and with a cheery wave of stubby fingers, they split, promising to meet again in a little while._

_The nations watching saw Matt mix with those who settled in the North-East to the Atlantic people, saw those who first domesticated the dog and had the toggle harpoon, watching them and helping them learn how to hunt the walrus, seal and caribou. They saw him participate in the hunt of the buffalo with his Western plains people, driving them over the cliffs while living the nomadic life with them. He travelled in the great Sea canoes of those who settled the pacific coast, admired their use of the cedar, the giant trees present there and watched in awe of the carving of the totem poles. He also traversed with those of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Valley Area, seeing the beginnings of the Hopewell burial mounds with Alfred (as here their people overlapped) and their use of copper while travelling about in their canoes Journeying North, he met the highly mobile first groups to settle the Arctic, taking to the kayak and the umiak (a larger type-kayak used for carrying families or multiple people) and learning many new tricks from the Shamans there._

_Over this period, there were meetings between him and his brother, one time they had even ventured far enough South to meet the Aztec and Mayan empires but they quickly decided that their cousins were a bit too scary and bloody thirsty for their liking (that and it was too hot there, especially for Matt) and they quickly returned to their own lands. Making his way back North, Matt mourned the disappearance of the Dorset, the giants who were one of his strongest Arctic tribes who had just vanished without a trace. Over the years he watched as the Atlantic tribes became the Unnu, Beothuk, Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, Wuastukwuik, Passamaquoddy, Penobscott and Abenaki, those of the Arctic became the Inuit, Dene, Han, Gwich'in, Invialuit and Tagish. Those of the Great Lakes formed the Wendat (Huron), Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Mohawk, Ottawa and Ojibwa. Those of the Plains became the Cree, Assiniboine, Beaver, Blackfoot, Blood, Peigan, Kutenai and Thompson. Those of the Pacific divided up into the Tlingit, Nisga'a, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakiutl, Salish and Nootka._

_With this consolidation of tribes came both joy and sorrow. Matthew travelled his land, sometimes with his Southern brother (and sometimes doing the same for him) and others alone, taking part in the Pacific potlatch where all the tribes would gather to trade food, treaties and celebrate, participating in the Sundance, joining in the storytelling, growing the Three sisters (Maize-corn, beans and squash) playing snow snake, lacrosse and other sports and helped in the making of pemmican, the preserved meat providing sustenance for the plains tribes._

_On the other hand, there were the wars._

_They were never fought for economic reasons but rather to protect borders and hunting land. There was no concept of property at the time but that did not make their wars any less brutal then the ones fought in Europe later. The nations watching all this unfold (with the exception of America who was already 'used' to it and Russia who was, well, Russia) were somewhat shocked, having previously never thought of what had gone on before the Europeans arrival (Vash was attempting to shield Lily's eyes) and had not believed that the innocent nations that the Northern 'New World' was comprised of had witnessed such brutality. This disbelief was especially felt by England and France who could not believe that their adopted charges had not come to them embittered and jaded as the different tribes had brief but bloody skirmishes after which the victor would enslave those they captured or perform ritualistic torture on them (though there was also adoption in that those dead would be replaced by those captured, "mourning war"). Soon, little Canada acquired tiny, nearly invisible scars all over his body as a result._

_Then the child's whole world changed when a group of Vikings arrived at his East Coast by Lief Eriksson in 1000 CE who "discovered" Vinland (Newfoundland), Markland (Labrador) and Helluland (Baffin Island). While Lief never returned, his brother Throvald did who settled in Vinland, at L'Anse Aux Meadows where there was wild wheat, the water teaming with salmon and grape vines, a far cry from the land they hailed from. However, he found the land not to be uninhabited when during their explorations of the land they happened upon nine natives sleeping in their boats and attacked them killing all but one. This turned out to be a bad idea as the nearby tribe was rallied and an enormous battle ensued, in which Throvald was killed._

_Matt, curious at those who would be so bold, began to watch the one hundred and sixty settlers and their livestock that began to settle there in 1012 CE, especially three figures who distanced themselves from the others._

_Here, Denmark gave a cry 'Hey! It's me, Norge and Sverge!'_

_The three were dressed in far more rich cloaks and had another aura about them, drawing the young one in. As they left their comrades to go explore the land, little Canada decided to follow them. The one with flat eyes and an emotionless face however called him out after an hour of stealthily following, the other two jumping with surprise. He had a choice, fight or flight but then realized that these three were like him (the feeling, he realized it was the same one he got from his brother) and so came out from his hiding place._

_**(old Norse) "...There are people here?"** Said Denmark with surprise " **I thought Throvold said the land was populated by skraelings? Kid's got the tiny part right but he's not withered or misshapen and he certainly isn't a troll."**_

" _ **It would appear so, wouldn't it? He obviously isn't a skraeling."** Then turning to the child, Norway said in the nation's tongue, the one they could all understand "My name is Norge, little one. Who are you?"_

_And so their friendship began with Matthew somewhat avoiding Sweden (his face was kinda scary though he knew him to be fairly nice), him learning the Viking style of fighting from Denmark and (his favourite) learning more magic from Norway. Their days passed peacefully like this for a period before the Norse began going further inland to trade which eventually erupted into violence between the two groups._

_With the threat of the Natives, bad weather and homesickness, they decided to abandon the settlements though their people continued to visit very few years to trade. However, when the settlement was abandoned, the other Nations found and took Matthew to the side before telling him their news._

_Denmark could vaguely remember the encounter but now the child's reaction took on an entirely different perspective as he was now aware that Matthew had not managed to make any contact with his brother for the past hundred years and the nearby tribes were starting to shun him for his lightened hair and skin and for the boy's contact with them. The boy had been lonely so when they told him their news and sadly left him, it was not a bittersweet farewell but rather an abandonment to him._

_So overreacting as children frequently do, Matthew decided to give up what had been taught to him (cause that'll teach them) and after consulting with some Shamans, the young child managed to perform a powerful ritual and sealed off his magic that he had so loved learning with Norway, permanently. However, in sealing off his magic, he was sealing off a part of himself, of his nationhood; not realizing that he had cursed himself to moderate invisibility among his fellows in the centuries to come, especially those more sensitive to magic._

_Matthew continued wandering, with nothing much changing for the centuries with the exception of the formation of the Iroquois League which was the alliance between five of the Iroquois nations that shared a similar language: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca (the Tuscarora joined in 1722). This changed with the voyage of Columbus of Spain to the Caribbean in search of the North West Passage which sparked the Age of exploration and a world of trouble for the young sub-nation. Starting with the Italian, Giovanni Caboto, better known as John Cabot gained sponsorship from the King of England and made it all the way to Newfoundland where he promptly erected a cross claiming the "New Founde Land" for England. It was as the sailors fished- if it could even be called that, those on the **Matthew** needed to only lower baskets to catch the cod teeming the waters- that the young sub-nation met the two Italians who had travelled with John Cabot though they did not stay long. Though he did not get as attached to the two as he had the three Nordics, Canada enjoyed the few conversations he'd had with the two and decided to take his human name from their ship, calling himself Ma'tu._

_After the discovery, there were soon hundreds of ships prowling the Grand Banks from England, Spain, France and Portugal. There was a Basque whaling station set up on Newfoundland and they hunted all along Labrador, though they too did not stay long. The Portuguese attempted a Colony on Cape Breton in 1520, which failed miserably and soon they also gave up, though in their case Matthew wasn't too disappointed. After all, around 1500, it was one of theirs, Gaspar Corte-Real, who kidnapped over fifty natives and sent them back to Portugal as slaves and the child acutely felt each of their deaths, so far away from home, from him._

_Matthew eventually stopped going to the East whenever he felt a foreign presence, after all they would all abandon him anyway or abuse him. This turned out to be the wrong decision perhaps because he might have been able to help or prevent what was to happen at the hands of the explorer Cartier. Though the child was not there, he certainly was aware of what had happened as it happened. This explorer came on the behalf of the French, he first proved Newfoundland an island, then explored Labrador dubbing it "the Land God Gave Cain" and dubbed what became Prince Edward Island "the fairest land 'tis possible to see". All in all that was not too bad (though he somewhat resented the title given to Labrador once he found out the meaning of that), next he arrived at New Brunswick where the nearby Mi'kmaq, well-versed in trade with the Europeans came to acquire foreign goods._

_However, it was as he followed the coastline that he came upon a group of Iroquoian people who were on a seasonal expedition. In the presence of their chief, Donnacona, they erected a cross proclaiming the land to belong to France and King François I and Donnacona knew full what the other was up to and began to denounce him. Matthew feeling this partial loss, immediately began making his way South-East (as he had been up with the Dene) even as Cartier tried to smooth things over by saying it was a navigational marker not a claim of ownership. Showering the chief with gifts, he then, as a show of good faith, kidnapped Donnacona's sons Domagaya and Taignoagny, and took them back to France._

_Watching this, Francis and Arthur both winced knowing that this set the standard for most meetings between the Imperial powers and the Natives for centuries. Exploitation._

_The following year they returned and this time Matthew was with them, watching. Cartier guided by his captives who had been made to learn French and become "civilized", made his way to their village going through the mouth of the St. Lawrence and, where Québec City is now, came to their home village of Stadacona where Donnacona and Matthew were waiting. It was during this journey that Matthew gained what would later be his name as Domagaya and Taignoagny used the word 'Kanata' for their village which Cartier promptly misunderstood to mean the region as a while and labelled it on his map as Canada. Overjoyed to see his sons, Donnacona gave a frosty welcome to the Europeans and began further infuriated when Cartier said he was going to Saguenay (magical kingdom similar to Eldorado) and was going to sail farther upriver despite the fact that this was bypassing the authority of the tribe as they controlled trade on that part of the St. Lawrence._

_Hearing none of it (and having guns backing him for good measure) Cartier then sailed further to Hochelaga (now where Montréal is), a large village of over fifty longhouses and had thousands come and greet him. Climbing up a nearby hill, which he named Mont Royal, he planted another cross there claiming the land for France and also saw that further upstream were the St. Lawrence rapids and, therefore, was not the passage he was looking for. So he returned back to Stadacona where he was trapped for the winter due to ice and was hit by scurvy. Matthew, watching from the shadows was. delighted that the man was suffering but upon seeing the state of his crew, he and the other Aboriginals provided a cure for the vitamin C deficiency in the form of boiled cedar bark. In thanks, when they could sail away, Cartier managed to kidnap Donnacona and nine others, before returning home. Only one of those captives would survive and when Cartier returned for the third time five years later he found those nearby to be quite angry with him._

_Wonder why._

_He attempted to fond a colony there but failed as the Aboriginals were against him, the climate was harsh and he wasn't making any progress on finding Saguenay, so after thirty-five colonists died, he returned home bringing gold and diamonds with him. Though it turned out that they were actually fool's gold (iron pyrites) and quartz, so French interest waned as it appeared the fabled Saguenay, the Eldorado of the North, was just that, a fable. It wasn't until Champlain that attention was returned to the land._

_The first settlement on St-Croix Island led by Pierre de Monts and the young navigator/mapmaker Samuel de Champlain, which ended in a fair disaster. Matthew and the Maliseet watching, though wary, were confused by their few preparations for winter. Overhearing a conversation of a soldier and de Monts, Matthew found out they didn't know that the river was going to be blocked with ice and how cold it was going to get simply because the area was roughly in line with the South of Franc. The child attempted to warn them, leaving signs that any of his people would have recognized, like a making a false groundhog burrow and making it's "walls" really thick, to show the cold winter to come, but the Europeans did not notice so when winter came thirty-six of the original eighty survived and those that did really only did so due to the supply ships from France that arrived in the Spring. Rather then give up, de Monts moved his settlement to Pont Royal, across the Bay of Fundy, which was a success. Then Champlain, egged on by de Monts (who had returned to France after the Crown cancelled his trading monopoly) built a settlement inland on the St. Lawrence and built Québec City, the same location where before Stadacona had stood but by the time Champlain arrived the village was gone, killed off by disease brought by Cartier and the survivors dispersed._

_However, it was then that Matthew's world truly changed, as with more and more Europeans attempting to establish there, his skin began to lighten even more and his hair became blond under their influence, much to his dismay. Then it was in the establishment of that third settlement by Champlain that he met France who greeted him with the name Cartier had mistakenly assigned to him and who he told the name he had chosen for himself of off Cabot's boat._

_He became Mat_ _hieu and was beloved to this funny looking stranger, which he promptly told to his bear companion Nanuk.(_ _ᓇᓄᖅ)_

_The energy Arthur and Alfred laughed at the stupefied form Francis. Funny...looking? But it was the height of fashion at the time!_

_It was here that this world of memory that they found themselves in speed up._

_They watched the foolish Martin Frobisher, sent back to England a sea unicorn horn (narwhal) and a sample of rock which he promptly declared to be gold but was just rock. He also managed to create negative relations with his Inuit, by kidnapping one and in his second voyage he kidnapped a man, woman and child and showed them off around Europe as a sort of side-show attraction in addition to 160 tons of ore and in his third voyage returned with 1200 tons of rock which turned out to actually contain no gold and was therefore worthless. Then there was Henry Hudson who managed to navigate the strait in-between Québec and Baffin Island, the bottleneck waters filled with unpredictable currents and ice. After reaching a dead end in James Bay, the man had no time to turn around before a winter he was unprepared for hit him. Trapped in ice, little provisions and sub-Arctic temperatures and making it clear that in the spring his intentions were to continue looking, the crew mutinied and set him adrift with his son Jack and his supporters._

_Also they watched as French settlements stabilized and as trade strengthened between the Aboriginals and the French - though there were always problems with the Iroquois which was of Champlain's own making as Champlain and several armed soldiers had joined their fur-trading allies, the Montagnais, against them, something the Iroquois never forgot. The French would also later ally with the Huron against them. This was to protect and increase the amount of fur traded but had the side effect of sparking war with the Iroquois, which became Matthew's first real civil war- the Iroquoian nations (especially the Mohawk) against New France, he was bed ridden on and off for about a hundred years._

_It worsened once missionaries (like the Jesuits) came over to convert "les sauvages" and religion became a factor in the tribes warfare with some being kicked out of their own tribes or one attacking another over it. T_ _his also infuriated many of the coureurs de bois as they were mainly Huguenots (or French Protestants) as the Catholic missionaries were not only disrupting trade but were also turning the natives against them. This was resolved once Cardinal Richelieu got involved and cancelled all earlier trading monopolies in favour of the missionaries while founding the Company of One Hundred Associates to take it's place. However, the worst thing was was that as more Europeans came in contact with his natives and the missionaries travelled from tribe to tribe, European disease such as smallpox followed and his people had no defence. Smallpox in particular killed half of the Huron population and divided them, many tribes being completely wiped out and the weakened Huron confederacy was targeted by the Iroquois, their traditional enemy and destroyed, it's survivors' scattering to the four winds. However, to be fair, the missionaries also suffered horribly at times, a number of martyrs were created especially at the hands of the Iroquois who were not fond of the new people (Champlain's fault). Also during this period, the coureurs du bois and voyageurs explored the surrounding land, meeting other tribes and setting up trade with them creating the flourishing fur trade of which the Hudson's Bay Company played a large part in._

_New France was little more than a trading post and place for military forts until settlers first arrived in 1617, the first ones being Louis and Marie Hébert and their three children. However, trouble always seemed to follow his big brother, Matthew would muse as once again, just as he came to visit in 1628, trouble came. Other times he'd brought Iroquois attack (who would still reluctantly associate with Matthew but only with suspicion) or an outbreak of disease, but this time, he'd brought privateers. The Kirke brothers were menaces; they terrorized the Acadian settlements, sailed up the St. Lawrence and set up a blockade, captured eighteen transport ships from France and took six hundred prisoners and all of the supplies (food, livestock, cannons...) and left with winter coming. This wasn't good as the settlers needed the French supplies and when they returned in the summer, Champlain had had no option but to surrender Québec City to them and he was taken prisoner along with Francis. In 1832, when King Charles required money he gave back the captured colonies for a lump sum payment and New France was resurrected._

_During that time under English rule, Matt saw his brother again. Overjoyed to see him, he was heartbroken when the other simply began to talk *in English* "Egad! Who are you? Your face looks just like mine!" Then before he could get a word in, the other ran off shouting "England! Come play!"_

_He had been left behind again._

_The modern America was not taking his past self's actions well. 'THAT WAS SO UNHEROC MINI-ME!...' The others just tuned out his ranting and continued to watch_

_1663, the filles du roi were sent over with the dowries provided by the king as a law was passed saying that only married men had hunting and fur-trading privileges, encouraging the hunters/trappers to take up a more permanent residence there and settle down (in the first decade the population jumped by nine thousand). Then with the establishment of the militia there and more soldiers to protect settlers from attack, more French came over and began starting farms and towns. Soon Mathieu began to identify himself not only as aboriginal but French as well, and in an effort to protect who he had once been, he began sneaking away from his governess when his father left to go West and North to visit his people there, though they were weary of him now with his strange skin and hair._

_After thousands of years of consistency, Matthew found his world changing far faster then he thought it had the right to, and he still had not managed to establish any sort of contact his brother to the south and was worried that he had been found by the English who Francis described as being personified by a nation without morals and huge eyebrows. It all began with the Seven Years War._

_In most history books it was looked at as the European Empires struggle to maintain colonial territory, economic wealth and power in Europe (and elsewhere), but most fail to cover the colonies which swept up in to the fighting. Matthew had grown a little but was barely more than a seven year old so there was not much he was allowed to do in the war, (though neither was his brother who was now his enemy) but his people fought..._

_The French did not want to lose to the English and the Aboriginals, looking to their southern neighbours and seeing how the British were treating them (much worse then the Canadian ones as the French needed them) fought to protect the French. The reason was the French's survival depended on their efforts and so were treated with respect, as an independent/own people and in return the French didn't settle on their land and had advantages in trade- all of which they would lose at the hands of the English who didn't need them. Also many French had heard of the fate of the Acadians in Nova Scotia (Acadia at the time) and did not want that to happen to them._

_It began with the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which signed over Hudson's Bay, Newfoundland and Acadia to the English. There was peace for about thirty years as the Acadians traded peacefully with their New England neighbours and aboriginal allies (Mi'kmaq) alike with no problem but they refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the English King for two reasons- first their land had switched hands so many times it didn't seem to have any meaning to them and secondly, before they had been allowed a clause which would allow them to not take up arms for the British in war- meaning they'd have to fight against the French and, more dangerous, their trade partners, the Mi'kmaq. There were high tensions between the French and English, neither trusted the Acadians as they attempted neutrality, the English settlers wanted their land which was the most fertile in the area and English wanted Nova Scotia to be completely theirs- did not like their close ties with the French._

_It was essentially a cold war until the English brought in English, German and Swiss protestants to settle the land, countering the Acadian presence, Halifax (the English Fort) was established and the Englishmen Charles Lawrence was put in charge, resulting in the breaking of the stale mate. He sent them an ultimatum, take the full oath with no conditions or get out- they refused. September 5, 1775, the Acadians were declared non-citizens, stripped of all rights, their land and livestock confiscated and farms destroyed. British soldiers came in and more then two thousand people were rounded up in the first wave alone. Families were broken up and placed on a fleet of ships, within a few months, there was nothing remaining of the settlement that had existed for decades. Many ships were lost early on and violent storms hit them, separating the rest, disease and malnutrition was rampant about ten thousand died in the expulsion, leaving Matthew a large scar on his forearm. Even worse was that the ships all landed in different areas but all in the thirteen colonies, **who had not been informed of their coming** and were unprepared for them- and 1000 would ultimately return after the treaty of Paris was signed._

_With regards to the Seven Years War, all the early battles fought in the colonies were won by the French but after the fall of the giant fort of Louisburg, the tides began to turn ending with the siege of Québec, then the plains of Abraham happened._

_The bombardment of Québec lasted nine weeks, destroying much of the city while English forces went and destroyed 150 miles of surrounding farmland, making starving them out a possibility. Then September 13, 1759, early in the morning (like 3 am or so) General Wolfe and British forces climbed a fifty meter high cliff and moved into place on the Plains while French forces and General Montcalm were waiting for them at Beauport, the nearest landing point for boats. When the news reached them, they high tailed it back, arriving exhausted. The battle began at about 8 in the morning and was decided in fifteen minutes (battles went a lot quicker then), Québec was lost and both Wolfe (on the battlefield) and Montcalm (the next day) were dead._

_Three separate British forces and their aboriginal allies then converged on Montréal where, September 8 1760, the Governor Veaudreuil signed the Articles of Capitulation and surrendered to General Amherst. The Treaty of Paris concluded the entire affair and shifted various territories from one sphere of influence to another- representatives from England, France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands and Prussia were all there. Back with Matthew, the child was absolutely furious that his aboriginal people were not even invited to the signing as the Treaty signed off some land that wasn't even French but was actually Aboriginal territory and even those on the winning British side lost some. Though he was also happy that his French people would be allowed to keep their religion, seigneural farming system and the fur trade they had so there wasn't too much change for him to adapt to...Right?_

_Not quite. The defeat of the French was a disaster to their allied aboriginal groups: they lost trade rights, bargaining position, gift distributions (to keep them treading with the French- things like guns, ammo and trade goods) and settlers began encroaching on their lands. They had not ceded any land to the British or signed any treaty declaring that, yet land speculators continued to take over land and settle it._

_This did not sit well._

_Matthew shouted one of his Ojibwa chief's words at Arthur who did not seem to understand this "You have conquered the French. You have not conquered us. We are not your slaves. These lakes, these woods and mountains were left us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance and we will not part with them!" Pontiac a war chief (and chief of the Ottawa tribe) for the Seven Nations Confederacy (Algonquian), wanted to throw off European dependency and go back to their traditional way of life, he convinced them to go to war against England. In the summer of 1763, they attacked traders and settlers, burned homes/farms and took all the forts west of Niagara (with the exception of Detroit, though it was sieged). They even took seven forts all in one day! The British commander Amherst, did not take this too well. He had smallpox infested blankets sent to the allied Nations causing about two hundred deaths and many more to be scarred. The warfare lasted over two years, shaking the British authorities when they realized just how little authority mattered here and ended when Pontiac entered peace talks- making it clear to those present that the British were just tenants on Native Lands. The British agreed to their demands, though it turned out they had no desire to keep their word, and the alliance disbanded, the like of which would only be seen once more in 1812._

_In response to this uprising, the English Crown issued a Proclamation in 1763 which was to appease the tribes. The upper country was to be turned into a vast reserve and outlined the rules for the British dealing with Aboriginals. All settlers occupying those lands were to leave and any land purchase had to be negotiated through the governor. (this is the source of many land claims now, Toronto is apparently still in fact technically aboriginal land)_

_But what actually happened to the natives? All over they watched as Matthew already faced an identity crisis, torn between their first peoples and the settlers. A striking example that stood out to those watching, setting a pattern for other encounters was when the Englishmen began to create summer settlements on Newfoundland in order to preserve their haul of fish in a process called dry fishing. This was where they would dry the fish out first before sprinkling it with salt in order to preserve it for the way back as, unlike the French and Spanish who fished in the area, they did not have enough to just pack the fish immediately in barrels, forcing them to result to this method. This then created the settings for one of the best known aboriginal tragedies in what is now recognized by many historians as a genocide._

_The Beothuk, the original 'Red Indians' the name coming from the red ochre they would paint themselves with, were dependant on the sea to survive, on fish and walrus. The Irish and English fishermen were completely ignorant of the salmon's life cycle, strung across rivers nets interrupting the vital migration upstream. In retaliation, the Beothuk cut nets and pilfered supplies to survive and in hopes they would leave. It didn't work. Soon furriers were also arriving moving inland, stealing Beothuk deerskins and raiding villages, the hostilities increased and the animosity between the two lasted over two hundred years from 1613-1824. The whitemen organizing hunts, indiscriminate massacres, killing women and children and until 1769 it was legal to kill them and even after these deaths continued, the entire populace was starved, hounded and **hunted** into oblivion. When the government tried to intervene, they only made things worse when they decided that they needed to capture a Beothuk, to teach them the 'benevolence' of the white man and then use them to get peace between the two peoples. So then hunters, looking for the bounty, would bring back a Beothuk, like a four year old who had his mother shot as she fled with him and was brought in or a woman who had her husband murdered in front of her and was dragged off, leaving her child behind her. It was in 1823 that they finally managed to be bring one in as three women surrendered, two of them soon died leaving the last, Shawnandithit, to act as a bridge between the two peoples. However, it soon became clear in her discussions (through drawings and notes) with the Scot William Cormack, that there was no people on the other side of that bridge. Shawnandithit was the last of her people, the rest had been hunted and starved into extinction. Matthew was there comforting his fellow colony John as she died from tuberculosis, mourning both her and all the other tribes that were disappearing under the might of the Europeans and watched solemnly as her skull was shipped to London for further study._

_After all, a people only became interesting and human after their death._

_The others were astonished, sure every nation had at some point in their life faced something akin to a genocide but the one that happened here and in the States seemed to merit a special kind of sorrow as no one anywhere seemed to know or care it was happening. Arthur, head bowed because while his people had been the cause and indifferent at the extinction (they were doing it elsewhere as well, as they fulfilled the 'White Man's Burden'), as a fellow nation he was not unfamiliar to that pain. He echoed the sympathetic _Cormack_ 's words "_ _the British have trespassed in this country and have become a blight and a scourge to a portion of the human race; under their power a_ _defenceless and once independent proud tribe of men have been extirpated from the face of the earth, scarcely causing an enquiry how or why."_ _The words echoing as they saw many tribes, especially around the colonized areas of the St. Lawrence disappear due to the setters' wars with_ _them as they settled on aboriginal land, the disease brought over, being weaselled out of what was theirs by treaties that said different on paper then what was verbally agreed to and being assimilated in. They saw the buffalo be hunted to extinction in the plains to make the so-called Indians there be dependant on the generosity of the white man, which was not saying much. By 1891 the natives had been reduced to 2.5% of it's original numbers and 97.5% of aboriginal land had been taken all over North America. Hundreds of languages, cultures, customs were erased off the face of the earth without any recourse and instead of having about fifty-five or so founding fathers, Canada had two, England and France._

_But that was a glimpse in the future, they watched almost in fast forward as life continued on in the Canadian colonies, they paid the taxes forced upon them through indirect taxes (like on stamps and sugar), the Townshend Act 1765 and the Tea Act 1773. Their southern neighbours weren't too pleased with these just as they were very displeased with the Quebec Act and Proclamation Act 1763. Matthew was worried as he watched the thirteen colonies work themselves up into a frenzy over the "Intolerable Acts" and the Boston Massacre. When Alfred came up to see him and invited him to join him, his fear grew; that look in his eyes was not the familial one but it was a cunning one, he had had to say no. None of his collective people supported them, not his Aboriginals, not the Canadiens in Québec, nor anyone from Nova Scotia or any of the other Atlantic colonies, though he quietly wished Alfred luck. The other gave a sad smile and left._

_It was later that he realized what the sad smile was for when they invaded Montréal and Québec in order to prevent it from being used as a launch pad for attacks against them. The Americans led by Montgomery, successfully captured the fort on the river Richelieu that protected Montreal, taking the city without a fight then turned their attention to Québec. The Governor Carleton informs all citizens that all those able bodied must join the militia or leave lest they be treated as spies and traitors so the city was prepared to fight, though outnumbered. The attack on the city was to be a two-pronged attack with Montgomery's forces (1500) coming from one side and the other force led by Benedict Arnold (1200) would travel up the Kennebec River and attack from the other side. Arnold as unlucky in that a) it was winter b)the map that he had been given to make this journey was fifteen years out of date so the route was two hundred miles off and c) because of the first two, he lost half of his men to dissertation, disease and death, arriving starved and exhausted. Matthew smirked, he could feel the General Winter at his side as snowstorm after snowstorm hit the area including the day that Montgomery and Arnold decided to attack. Because of the snow, Montgomery's portion of forces attacking Lower Town, failed to see the three hundred militiamen and British seamen waiting for them and Benedict didn't fare much better as he and his men hit two street barricades. The battle turned into a brawling street fight as they forgot an important military rule- don't go marching into unfamiliar streets in the middle of the night in a blizzard: the Americans had more then one hundred and four hundred taken prisoner while the British suffered three deaths._

_The invasion of Canada was over and a few months later the Declaration of Independence was issued and chaos descended on America for a while. Not that Matthew was truly aware of this, he had gone Westward to look after the Loyalists that were settling there and after the Aboriginals who were fleeing the Americans. Mohawk (led by Joesph Brant/Thayendanegea), Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca fought for the British but the Oneida and Tuscarora though neutral found themselves caught up in George Washington's anger about the Iroquoian Alliance fighting against them- the total destruction of their settlements, lifestyles and them if they were caught by the soldiers._

_Needless to say, finding places where both these groups could settle was no easy task so the government entered into negotiation with the Canadian Aboriginals and suspiciously managed to get large sections of land for the Loyalists to settle on- like from the Mississauga people who surrendered a large strip of land (a few kilometers worth) in exchange for three hundred suits. Because that definitely would have appeared fair to both groups. Other such examples were when the Ojibwa and Ottawa people sold 809,400 hectares of land in 1790 and another 1,214,100 hectares in 1793 which they were paid £1200 each time for. Yep. Also when the Treaty of Paris of 1783 (not to be confused with Treaty of Paris of 1763, cause they're unoriginal with names) was signed, the British once again did not have any of their aboriginal allies present and even signed off large sections of their land- the lands west of the Ohio River (because Canada had a claim on the entire Ohio valley as it was once French territory) and South of the Great Lakes. Matthew was furious to hear that one British negotiator had even mused whether or not the should simply hand Canada over to the States as a peace offering- Arthur was afraid to leave the room he was staying in for a few days as the colony simpered with anger at his house._

_Things never seemed to get any less complicated, no, now problems began to appear as the Europeans began to explore his Pacific coast, the first one to arrive was a Danish captain called Virus Bering who was working for the Russian czar at Alaska- soon the Russian were building trading posts there. Then, once they heard of the Russians coming over, the Spanish then decided to also go North (Matthew was somewhat afraid of them as they had killed his southern cousins Maya, Inca and Aztec) and they went to the Queen Charlotte Islands where they began trade with the Haida. Next came the British with James Cook at what became known as Nootka due to a miscommunication (similar to how Canada was named) and was nicknamed Friendly Cove for the welcome the native Mowachaht had given them. Here they discovered the valuable sea otter pelt, which, like the beaver, were highly valued and sold for a small fortune so, naturally everyone wanted a piece of the action (the poor otter was hunted nearly into extinction and still hasn't recovered). Matthew watched, aghast and overwhelmed as he soon had Spanish Swashbucklers, British Prisoners (seized by the Spanish), Chinese Workers (brought by the British to build forts but were used by the Spain instead) and American Traders all lurking while he and the natives were absolutely baffled. Eventually, it was declared an open port._

_Matthew was really regretting helping Cartier now, maybe if he hadn't they would have never come back..._

_Anyway, following the Loyalists arrival, their complaints resulted in the Constitutional Act of 1791 which divided the colony into two parts, one French, the other English- Upper and Lower Canada came into being. Both would have an elected assembly, though most power would remain with the governor and have more say in what happened there. So Matthew suddenly found himself, at the ripe appearance of nine, suddenly having to care for two infants, the two that would grow into Ontario and Québec. Years passed, he had John Simcoe, the Governor of Upper Canada (Ontario) pass the Slave Act of 1793 which formally abolish slavery (even before Britain did in 1834 for all colonies), stating that all pre-existing slaves would remain property but no new ones could be bought and also set standards for which the remaining ones were to be treated._

_He had a few years of peace, then came the war of 1812 and Alfred's Manifest Destiny. It seemed to already be lost as all he had were the trained British soldiers already there, the militia and his Aboriginals as Arthur was too busy with Napoleon to send any help his way. Even just comparing their populations, it was clear that things were not looking good as the US had a population of approximately 7.5 million while Upper Canada had less than 80 000 and in total was somewhere around 400 000. Thomas Jefferson advised the President that conquering Canada was 'a mere matter of marching' though Canada was determined to make it a bit more difficult then that at least._

_Then came the brilliant General Brock and Aboriginal leader Tecumseh which changed everything. The Shawnee Tecumseh united the Shawnee, Ottawa, Delaware, Miami, Wyandot, Chippewa, Fox, Potawatomi, Dakota, Kickapo, Sauk, Winnebago and Iroquois (though this last joined after the battle at Dearborn) who were sick of American expansion in their lands and thought to secure through the British a sovereign First Nations homeland. They had a succession of victories at Michilimackinac, then at Fort Detroit, Fort Dearborn and at Queenston Height though there he also lost Brock, to his sorrow. Further "endearing" his southern brother to him, Alfred burned York. Then came the battle of Stoney Creek which occurred ten days after six thousand Americans landed at the mouth of the Niagara River and quickly seized Fort George. Seven hundred British regulars, with Canadian militia and aboriginal support attacked three thousand Americans encamped there at Stoney Creek and forced their withdrawal back to the fort. Two weeks later was the Battle of Beaver Dams where Laura Secord's famous run informed the British that the Americans were planning a surprise attack there. The battle was one with no shot being fired, the Mohawk's war cries were enough to frighten the forces into surrendering- just like they had at Fort Detroit. After that came Moraviantown where a smaller British force were made to engage the Americans and, disorganized, fled, leaving the natives to fight and the brave Tecumseh died. Then came the simultaneous (ish) battles of Chateauguay and Crysler's farm where the Americans were again disorganized and soundly defeated this time by a band of French-Canadiens, English-Canadians and Natives. After a defeat at Chippewa, the British retreated to Fort George then deployed to Lundy's Lane where chaos ensued and both sides claim victory (I don't know either, the Americans retreated first but took several British artillery guns with them) Then they went and burned Washington, the battle becoming known as a 'race' because of the fact that the entire defending army ran away and in trying to catch them, some British soldiers apparently got heat stroke. By the time they got to the capital, it was deserted so quite a lot of building were put to the torch before they sailed north and attacked Baltimore. Then came the huge defeat at Plattsburg. A few months later came the Treaty of Ghent which was signed December 24 1814, though apparently they were a wee but slow spreading the news because on the 8th there was a naval battle for New Orleans which the Americans won._

_Battlefield wise, the Americans lost. They were highly disorganized and didn't come anywhere near of reaching their goal of conquering Canada, in fact Matthew held quite a substantial bit of America's land at the end. However, in a political sense they won because they had all their grievances addressed (ex. press-ganging), they had their original borders reaffirmed and given free reign in the West (the British once again betraying their native allies). So it could be said, the Americans won politics wise, Canada won the war but lost negotiations so broke even and the Natives lost._

_The next century passed by in a whirl with the Road to Responsible Government as waves of immigrants began arriving in 1830 when with overpopulation in Europe and the Potato famine. Unlike the older inhabitants, these new people saw the abuses of power and pointed them out, rallying all of the Third Class to rise up. The governments in both Upper and Lower Canada were run by the "Family Compact" and "Chateau Clique" which were just rich families dictating how things went. For example, despite 85% of the population living in rural areas they spent money on bettering trade via waterway so their investments would prosper whereas the common person wanted roads. Soon there rebellions in both Upper and Lower Canada, which were crushed by the British, not wanting a repeat of the thirteen colonies._

_With the British adopting free trade, there was no reason for them to heavily control their North American colonies (Upper & Lower Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI) anymore. So with the help of Lord Durham, Lord Elgin, Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine, Canada had at last a government responsible to the people and Ottawa was chosen to be the Capital after the Act of Union. Then came the the Fenian Raids, American Civil War, the Underground Railroad, John A MacDonald and Confederation. Confederation occurred largely due to the fear of another American invasion as they were going through a Civil War at the time and began at the Charlottetown Conference which was essentially Matthew, Jean and Vincent attempting to get their Maritime cousins into joining which Nova Scotia and New Brunswick did (though PEI didn't as wanted as promise for a solution to to absentee landlord crisis first) and through much negotiation and conferences, the British North America Act was passed, unifying the four into own country (though head of state is still Queen/King). Shortly after, Canada had it's first separatist movement from Nova Scotia as many there felt to have been tricked into it._

_In 1869, the biggest purchase of land in recorded history happened when the Hudson's Bay Company agreed to sell Rupert's Land (Manitoba, land all around Hudson's Bay in Ontario and Québec, Saskatchewan and Alberta) and North-Western Territory to Canada for 1.5 million. Then came the Red River Resistance as the inhabitants of Manitoba were not happy about just being sold off, particularly the Métis (term for those with European and Native ancestry). Led by a man called Louis Riel, they attempted to form their own provisional government but after the execution (or murder depending on perspective) of Thomas Scott it all went to hell in a handbasket, with soldiers being sent in, the Battle of Duck Lake, the North-West Rebellion and some more chaos. Though they did get a lot of what they were asking for through the Manitoba Act which created Manitoba as a separate province from Rupert's Land and the North-West Territory, Louis Riel was executed later for treason. After promising mounties to keep American smugglers out/police the area ("Uphold the Right" - motto) and a Railway connecting East to West, Matthew and MacDonald got British Colombia to join Canada._

_Then a few years after, they got PEI to join by (mainly) promising to assume their debt and buy out the absentee landlords. So that Matthew (now looking to be in his mid-teens) found himself in charge of four boys and four girls who all seemed to want something different. The Canadian Pacific Railway had begun to be built and had proved it's worth at the the time of the North-West Rebellion eventually coming to cross, unbroken, for five thousand kilometres and was a victory over geography (huge mountains, Canadian shield rock, water. bog, chasms- all in way). It was also with the CPR that non-European immigration began as the government began to employ cheap labour, the Chinese began coming over in droves. They saw it as a golden opportunity to make their fortune and support their families but  as racism was alive and well so they were given all the most dangerous jobs, it is said that six Chinese died for every mile of track (coining the term 'a Chinaman's chance'). Then came the Manitoba School Act of 1890 which signed the death knell for any significant French presence in Western Canada as as the English had now reduced the Natives to specific areas, they were now trying to contain the French to New Brunswick and Québec._

_With the turn of the century came the real immigration boom, Matthew had already English and_ _French people, Americans, his Natives, Chinese on the West Coast, an Icelandic colony in Manitoba and a considerable number of Germans, so who else could come? To settle the northern farmlands, northern European peasants: with the invention of the Marquis wheat harvests could be tripled and were more resistant to cold so they needed similar hardy people so more Germans along with Hungarians, Poles, Scandinavians and Ukrainians (lots and lots of Ukrainians). An acre of land could be purchased for a $1, who could resist there becoming one of the wealthy, the land owning people? Matthew then gained two more sons as the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created through the Autonomy Acts and the immigration was the beginning of multiculturalism of a sort in Canada._ _After the CPR was completed, the government wanted to stem the flow of Chinese/Asian people coming, wanting Canada to remain white and so put a head tax on each Asian entering of $500 and were openly hostile to those who were already here as they did not have the right to vote. Around the same time was the last great gold rush in Klondike and was the only one "organized" as the mounties were involved and with it came the Alaska border dispute. It began with the founding of the Yukon which was created to assert sovereign over the area which in turn caused the Americans to debate the boundary of the Alaskan Panhandle – a committee of three Americans, two Canadians and a Brit was drawn up and the Brit sided with the Americans, causing Canada to lose quite a bit of land. (Though Matt had felt better after slugging a smirking Alfred a new one) Following this Matthew was called forth to help fight in South Africa in the Boer War (against the Dutch) with over seven thousand going to go fight, their first significant action being at Paardeberg._

_It was quiet for a bit, then came the Great War and with it Ypres, the Somme, Vimy Ridge, the Hundred Days, Passchendaele and Amiens, even being dispatched to Russia's in 1918 after the Armistice. No one questioned his ability to fight anymore (though as individuals, Alfred, Francis and Arthur already remembered when they could recall the invisible one) Canada was right there with his boys fighting even as his people began turning against each other (again) over the conscription crisis giving him a splitting headache, then came THAT day. He was with one of his regiments trying to reclaim a town when the Germans there outmanoeuvred them and they began to retreat when he felt a great pain in his side, his ears ring and he lost his sight, collapsing into the hard dirt. He could feel their deaths caused by the greatest-man made explosion ever (with the exception of the atomic bomb) as twenty minutes after the Imo (a steamer) and Mont Blanc (a French_ _munitions ship) collided, the fire on the Mont Blanc at last lit 2700 tons of explosives it was carrying and levelled all of Halifax. A tidal wave and firestorm followed the monstrous blast and more then three thousand people were killed and over two hundred blinded by flying glass and Matthew passed out screaming to the heavens. When he woke, he was scared when he could still not see and felt a great chill on his side- a blizzard had hit Halifax and area. Well this was fun. At least he was on a bead... wait. How the hell did he end up on a bed? Squirming, he was alarmed to feel his ankles bound, though he calmed somewhat at feeling the bandages against his burns._

" _Über Zeit, die Sie wachte auf, Kanada" A voice said in the dark._

 _Matthew jumped and momentarily forgot that he couldn't see as he panicked, he knew that voice, though he'd only heard it at meetings or when visiting his dad._ " _Prussia?"_

_"Got it in one." Prussia replied, sounding pleased._

_The other had found him lying there 'dead' in the dust and looked after to him before returning him to the Allied side discreetly, in under a year the Armistice was signed and the war was done._

_Coming home, his problems hadn't improved much, due to the war the labour movements got started resulting in things like the Winnipeg General Strike (more then 30000 participating) and the Woman's Movement also began (right to vote and the famous Person's Case). Though these things caused strife (and caused his bones to ache), he was happy that some of his people were standing up for themselves. Though while improvements were made for worker's rights, social reform and woman's rights were made, the government continued to ignore his First Peoples- who in order to vote or own property had to relinquish any such status, had had any sort of ceremonies forbidden by law (the pow-wows, sundance, potlach, etc) and the Indian Act which forbade any sort of Native political organization. The decade was not all negative though, marked by the discovery of insulin by Banting and Best, Old Age Pensions and economic prosperity until the stock market crashed and the beginning of the dirty-thirties, of the Great Depression. Though he'd been unable to stand for the better part of that time, there had been some signs of light like with the Statute of Westminster which created the British Commonwealth and gave those included in it self-governing status. Despite the strikes, he found joy in seeing the Dionne Quintuplets being medical miracles (having healthy quintuplets on the kitchen floor at the time was considered this) but despised the circumstances that had them on display at 'Quintland'. He also took pride in doctor Norman Bethune and nurse Jean Ewen who travelled to China helping the doctors there with the wounded injured repelling the Japanese. Ewen eventually left but Norman after an extensive surgery contacted blood poisoning and died in 1939. However, he is credited with bringing modern medicine to China and let Matthew feel a little better about what had happened to those Yao had sent over to help with the railway._

_Then, just as he began to climb out of it, the Second World War began and he was once again in the heart of it. There were the politics as he had the Ogdensburg Agreement (between him and neutral Alfred), the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, another Conscription crisis and such but then there were the battles. Right at the beginning, he had his not- completely trained and ill prepared soldiers sent out to fight, first at Hong Kong where they were promptly massacred because even as Churchill said it would be impossible to defend, they needed to put up some resistance so one thousand nine hundred Canadian soldiers were sent in along with some British and Indian units. Then at Dieppe where five thousand of the six _thousand_  in operation Jubilee were Canadians and everything went wrong from planning to the battlefield with an ending casualty rate of 70%. From there, the rest of the war didn't seem to be quite so bad especially with victories helped his people from the invasion of Sicily and then Italy, Ortona, Hitler Line Battles, Juno in D-Day, the closing of the Falaise Gap, the breaking of the Gothic Line, Scheldt and the Liberation of the Netherlands. Canada was horrified by the concentration camps that began to turn up, his governments regulations for immigration (specifically those aimed at Jews) as with an Anti-Semitic Prime Minister, his were among the most stringent in the world taking in less then five  _thousand_  Jewish refugees from 1933-1945._

_It was near the end, in the liberation of one of the concentration camps that Matthew and Alfred found the horror for their kind. With war came them attacking each other, capturing, abusing, breaking the others BUT only at their hands. It was almost symbolic, they did their duty as nations but still retained their personal ties: it wasn't personal to them (though there were a few cases where it was). However this. This. They had found Prussia, starved, beaten, branded; all that had gone on in the camp had also happened to him. As Alfred radioed to Arthur (on a private setting of course) their findings, Matthew began to look after the other as best he could, repaying the care Prussia had given him decades before. From the United Kingdom, they found out that the British had found Ludwig in the basement of one the high class Nazi buildings in Munich, heavily, heavily drugged, beaten and abused as well. It turned out that after the killings began, there was only so long that Hitler had been able to lie to his nation about the sources of those deaths and when he threatened retaliation they managed to capture a weakened Gilbert, who had been recently dissolved by Germany and was still recovering. So as long as they had Prussia, Germany did as they told him, for a while at least until he snapped and they managed to subdue him as well- weakened by the losing war and deaths. They were ordered to get him to safety so Matthew got him him away from the front and began to look after the other. At the end of the war, when they were obeying the orders handed down by their bosses on the losers, Gilbert took a quick moment to whisper a thank you in the Canadian's ear before hugging his brother and disappearing with Russia._

_Returning home, Matthew found himself missing the other as they had grown close over Matthew looking over him and he was worried about the other reopening his wounds as the GDR- Russia was not known for being an easy taskmaster. However, he had his own issues to worry about, there was a huge rift that had been caused between the English and French populations, the beginnings of the United Nations – one of his own (John Humphery) even drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for them. Also several social programs were also had been introduced like the Unemployment Insurance and Family Allowances which had piled up the paper work at home along with all the stuff from the war like the internment camps for his citizens of Japanese/German/Italian descent, conscription, bills and more. Then he joined NATO as the Cold War heated up while he also had a moment of joy when his brother Newfoundland decided not to declare independence or join Alfred but rather become his tenth province in March 1949. Then came another war when Canadians went to South Korea aid with American and British forces (under the UN's orders) when North Korea invaded the South, then hot on that conflicts heals was the Suez Canal Crisis (with a solution being provided by a man who would eventually become his prime minister Lester B. Pearson)._

_The memories seemed to speed up as they got closer and closer to modern times and in a flash they saw the tale of the Avro Arrow, Tommy Douglas and his government health insurance program in Saskatchewan (which was the beginning of health care in Canada), the Canadian Bill of Rights, The Quiet Revolution in Québec, The Vietnam War (though there were no official contingents sent more then ten thousand went south to go volunteer and Canada became the refuge to  thirty-two thousand draft dodgers), Canada getting it's own flag with no connection to the UK's, Canada's official centennial year in '67, Expo 67 and De Gaulle's "Vive le Québec Libre" speech he gave that sparked separatists tensions in the province._

_Then began Treadeaumania and a huge period of change. It started with the Official Languages Act of 1969 which made Canada officially bilingual, then came the controversial White Paper on Indian Affairs (gov docs are colour coded- white is official but non-binding) which was withdrawn but made natives rights an important topic again, the establishment of the Office of Native Claims to help settle some land claims and then came the October Crisis when separatist fever reached it's peak. Some FLQ (Front de Libération du Québec) terrorists kidnapped British trade commissioner James Cross and the Québec minister of labour and immigration Pierre Laporte wanting ransom and the release of 23 political prisoners. In retaliation, Trudeau ordered the army in and invoked the War Measures Act rendering Canada under martial law- the next day Laporte was found dead though ultimately the FLQ were found and crushed. More change came with the Multicultural Act ensuring equality of all ethnic groups across Canada, shortly after came a small break for Matthew when team Canada took on the Soviets in a best of eight games._

_The first four were held in Canada and the last four in the USSR, and when Matthew travelled to Russia, he was invited to dinner at Ivan's house. Having heard stories of what was happening in the GDR despite all communications from there being official ones and the Berlin Wall being an obstacle, he had heard. So when he went to the dinner, he brought with him an important piece of paper. After eating, Russia was called away briefly, Matthew quietly turned to Ukraine and asked her if she would do him a huge favour and get Gilbert to sign on this document. Katyusha, sympathetic to the other simply stated he would be unable to as he had yet to regain consciousness from a beating he had taken from an angry Ivan when Gilbert had laughed at a Canadian victory._

_He then whispered "...or at least give a thumbprint of blood. This will ensure that at least if East Germany dies, then as New Prussia he shall live. He deserves at least another chance for happiness."_

" _How?"_

" _I made him an unofficial province with my son's permission, Ontario is about_ _1,076,395 km in area and we gave him_ _297,000 km centred around New Prussia, which is about the size of his old empire so it should sustain him."_

_Hearing Russia returning she quickly smiled and took it and nodded, giving her agreement. Then during the last game, Lithuania managed to slink it back to him, signed. Relieved that he saw it signed with a sloppy G (though saddened that the rest was a bloody thumbprint), Matthew focused on the game instead, dancing in joy when in the last 34 seconds he won the game and the series before having to run from a smiling Russian and pipe._

_Back home, it didn't take long for problems to start coming back beginning with Bill 22 was being passed in Québec making French the only official language of the province followed by the 1980 referendum which called for sovereignty-association (which was_ _them becoming a separate nation with confederation economic benefits) which didn't pass, then came the Constitution Act of 1982 which had Canada assume Britain's remaining authority, added a Charter of Rights and Freedom and made the Constitution Canada's own. Problem was getting the thing passed, as MP's came very very close to breaking into an all out brawl in the Commons and came the Night of Long Knives as all the premiers, except for Québec's who was unhappy with parts, agreed to it and sent it off to Britain for approval- which was legal. (Québec still has not recognized it). After Trudeau came Mulroney and Free Trade, the Government Sales Tax, the Penner Report, the Sechelt Band Agreement and the failed Meech Lake Accord and Charlottetown Accord. Then the Oka crisis (Mohawk Land claim vs golf course that got really out of hand) and the Voter Revolt in 1993, then came another separatist referendum and nothing really got done though he was delighted when Gilbert began to visit him demanding pancakes and began spending time with him._

_Then came some major (positive for once) change for his Natives as they at last began getting some justice. January 1998, the government at last issued an apology for the residential schools run by churches and funded by the government from the late 1800's to the last one closing in 1996. They were to properly teach and assimilate Natives into Canadian society, taking children as young as three away from their parents and sticking them in a boarding school with adults who see them as uncivilized and inferior. The schools stripped natives of the languages, religions, customs and cultures as they would be beaten with they dared speak in their tongue (one school would reportedly give out fifty whacks with a cane) and there were many abuses from emotional to physical to sexual. (It is believed that it is part of why today there is such high poverty and depression among aboriginal groups as the schools really took away any sort of dignity, pride or identity.) Then came the Nisga'a agreement which was an agreement between the Nisga'a tribe and the government as they never treated their land away nor was their land surrendered in a war yet their territory was being occupied and so were compensated and then Nunavut was the result of the largest land settlement ever in Canada. Time seemed to swirl around them until they saw at last_ _December 21_ _st_ _when Canada first fell through the portal and the four hundred and fifty years he spent in the other world until his escape February 10_ _th_ _. Then they saw the world of white and saw Matthew lay down in a field of poppies with a quiet "I'm tired"  before he fell asleep and then Gilbert's intervention._

_As the memories came to a close, they became aware of another energy being near them, somewhat formless but growing steadier until all they heard was a quiet "So that is who I am" was whispered in the air and the figure's features sharpened to reveal a serene looking Canada._

* * *

Then Francis opened his eyes and found himself once more in his body and in the conference room. Looking up, he saw in the circle once again the fourteen cloaked figures, this time with their masks off, and he was able to identify each province and territory right up until...

"Gilbert..." whispered a hoarse German voice, Ludwig apparently not quite believing his eyes and then Francis was then struck dumb as another figure sat up, "Mathieu?"

The blond gave a quick smile as he said to a similarly dumbstruck North Ireland, "Aunt Kathleen, I think I need another pisreog"

* * *

**Translations**

_Pauvre Mathieu_ (Fr- Poor Matthew)

 _Artur_ (French form of Arthur)

 _Nanuk.(_ _ᓇᓄᖅ)_ (Inuit for bear, alternate spelling is Nanook)

 _Über Zeit, die Sie wachte auf, Canada._ (Ger- About time you woke up Canada)

* * *

**I have a fairly optimistic view towards the nations in that I would like to think that they would not support any sort of policy that would kill their people and would have to be strong armed into it. After all they live long enough to elevate themselves above discrimination as (to my understanding) they would feel the others pain and know that what they are being told is wrong. However, despite not supporting it, they have to let humans have fairly free-reign and only offer advice so I hope that came through.**

**A fairly good guide for the provinces (is not mine, belongs to devia** **nt** **ctcsherry)**  ctcsherry . deviantart . com /art/Provinces-and-their-Supervisor-160776840

**Also, what I wrote was based off of multiple textbooks and I know there are a few discrepancies, the problem is that we were technically British well into the 20th century and that fact is reflected in history books. So it is uncertain, for example, how many Canadians were involved in the burning of the White House and invasion of Washington- it is known that they were British soldiers but how many were native-born, enlisted Canadian "citizens" as the Brits were busy with Napoleon at the time. Even in some WWII history books, things like Dieppe are still listed as British forces and I'm sure other countries like Australia and New Zealand also probably run into the same problem.**


	23. Chapter 23

**AN- And this here is the end ladies and gents. I hope you enjoyed the story, that the characters were not OOC (by canon not fanbase) and that my writing wasn't too bad.**

**In case no one really caught that, Gilbert's totem was actually a phoenix, which I thought suited him as each time he fell, he would bounce back.**

**I do not own Hetalia, only my plot.**

* * *

"...And that was what happened."

One week had passed since the incident in Alfred's United Nations panic room and they had just finished having an emergency meeting to explain what had had happened, how to repair the damages done by the controlled nations and just generally talk about the entire problem.

Most present were still trying to adjust to the knowledge that England wasn't crazy about magic and all that, though most were forced to acknowledge this when the entire fae court crossed over to thank them for their help in defeat Morgan Le Fay. They thought it might have been the remnants of the magic in the building which rendered them visible but whatever the reason, everyone could see them and that in itself had caused a bit of panic at first. Speaking of kind-of-freaky, Titania was back to being a bit of a creeper and that night the hotel they were staying at ran out of hot water from all the showers people were taking.

That was another thing, Arthur had all but fainted when he discovered that Morgan was actually a failed nation born to supplant him. Though no one really teased him about that, the idea would have been disturbing enough to any of them and also there was some pity towards him as he had first appeared in the meetings fresh out the hospital. He wouldn't say the cause of that visit but he had a number of casts, bruises and bandages all over so it was felt he was already suffering enough – especially because France had decided to look after him.

At the end of their impromptu conference it had been decided that it was _forbidden_ to use magic on/against another nation without their explicit consent, accidents excepted (though there needed to be substantial proof that the spell was not supposed to have affected someone else). And that also they needed some sort of emergency system in place so in the event that something similar occurred it would not be able to spread like it had again.

Then they were all going to go home and sleep it all off.

That, however, was not what everyone was talking about during the meetings.

No.

Despite the fact that 80% or so of them were male and very old, the nations were quite possibly the WORST gossips/secret keepers EVER.

Within a day of them returning nearly everyone knew that Feliciano and Ludwig had gotten together (Hungary had seen them kissing so they hadn't stood a chance with secrecy) and during the conference, Romano – seeing the two walking together holding hands – accidentally blurted "Just because you were once the bastardo Holy Roman Empire does not mean you can be so fucking shameless! Let go of my fratello!" He was still shouting as Spain dragged him off to 'calm down' while everyone just stared at Ludwig (especially Francis who had gotten a little pale). After he reassured them that he was no longer interested in becoming the second Roman empire, the others began congratulating him on his survival and Hungary glomped him shouting about how romantic the entire thing was.

Then there were rumours of Arthur having tamed Francis, the almighty lecher, when he stopped the other from groping Spain with a single glare. However that they were together in any way shape or fashion had yet to be confirmed by either party (though there were those who said they should get over their pride, stop dancing around each other and date already!).

However those juicy bits of news were overshadowed by something that very few people saw coming that had happened when the meeting was closing. A red, nervous-looking America had walked up to Russia, grabbed him by the jacket, yanked him forward and kissed him. Hard. Then, looking anywhere but at the others eyes and rubbing the back of his head, he said "So... Former-Commie, I was wondering if you were available now for some Пельмени?... But only if you want to. I mean, if you'd prefer to eat at your hotel or you have a flight to catch, I understand... Well if, umpf!"

Ivan was momentarily speechless (so was everyone else), whether from the kiss or from the correct pronunciation of the word before he gave a big non-creepy grin and cut the other off with a kiss of him own. He then answered with "Да, though, as you said before – I'm in America, it is your language and your food, it would be against your 'bro code' for me to decline the opportunity to eat something of yours instead."

America looked a little cowed, as though he'd been anticipating a refusal but as the other finished he went a little wide eyed then laughed. "How do you feel about ribs and some apple pie on the side? I know a great place..."

"Браттттттттттттттттттттттттттттттттттттттттттттт!"

Then the two had to make a break for it as Belarus howled her fury and began to chase them. Alfred's totem Freedom, still having not changed back from it's Thunderbird form blocked all the thrown knives at Al as the two ran out of the room, America pulling Russia along by the hand, cackling madly.

* * *

With that, everything went back to normal. Or at least, as normal as nations get.

* * *

Though there was one exception, Matthew, the seal on his magic broken with his temporary death, had regained that part of himself sealed with his magic and was no longer invisible – to his great delight. He had had to explain who he was a few times but this time around once he told someone, they didn't forget.

After returning home, Matthew decided to make some Pâtes de Cochon, Poutine, Shepard's Pie, salad, vegetable stew, stir fry, and some Tarte du Sucre for dinner that night to celebrate being home, being visible and being back to together with those he cared about. His provinces and territories had quickly run to their respective houses and bosses after the incident and now that things had calmed down somewhat, they were going to be back at his house for dinner, the first time they would all be together again since his revival.

So he was making a bit of a feast for the fifteen of them.

Just a small one.

Singing softly to himself he tended to the cooking, adding a bit of garlic to the Pâtes, put the Shepard's pie in the oven and began to cook the vegetables. However, he froze when he heard the patter of feet in the hall and turned to see a very groggy Prussia in the doorway. Gilbert had passed out a little but after the spell completed and been sleeping for the past seven days. Matthew had told a worried Germany (who, in an hour had not only thought his brother was dead but also had the other pass out on him when he hugged him) that he was probably adjusting to just being a non-official province instead of a non-official province and half a country – he had slept for quite a bit after his initial dissolution hadn't he? With a promise to call Germany as soon as the other woke, the two had been left alone but now that he found the other awake, Matthew found himself thinking of all sorts of excuses to delay that phone call, to keep him to himself just a little longer.

"Good afternoon Gilbert, feeling better?"

"Mmh-na" Right, he wasn't much of a talker when he woke up.

"That's good..." There was a bit of an uncomfortable atmosphere which made Matthew immediately nervous and when the poor nation got nervous, he rambled. "Um... did you know that my natives would hold you in fairly high regard?" At the others bleary eyed questioning look he continued "Because of the spirit beliefs they hold towards albinos...NOT IN A BAD WAY OF COURSE! It's just... it was taboo to hunt or kill any albino animal and albinos were an omen of great wisdom and ancient knowledge, especially among those of the Plains cause of their belief in the White Buffalo Woman...though the taboo was probably more because of their inability to camouflage well... There was alsmmpf!"

Before the poor lad could continue and turn anymore red, Gilbert had leaned over and placed half a bun in the others mouth. "Matt, I'm not yet awake enough and therefore not-quite awesome enough to process that..."

Nodding (and chewing lest he choke), Matthew went back to chopping up the potatoes and carrots for the stew and turned on the radio.

 _...silence (empires of faith unravel)_  
Alone (sealed with our virtues' treasures)  
Kingdoms falling

Matthew made a delighted noise at the song playing and as he chopped up the carrots, he began to hum along.

 _Down (who's hand commands this thunder)_  
In silence (cry as we're torn asunder)  
Alone (unto what gods do I call?)  
Protects us in our...

 _Fall away, my soul wandered_  
Borne by grace  
I flew on high, sheltered from this thunder  
Calling heaven...

 _Take me away from time and season_  
Far, far away we'll sing with reason  
Prepare our throne of stars above me  
As the world once known will leave me

 _Take me away upon a battle_  
Far, far away from fears and shadow  
Strengthen my heart in times of sorrow  
Light the way to bright...

As the other continued to hum, cook and dance, Prussia, New Prussia now he guessed, had fully woken up and turned the radio down a bit and spoke up, starling Canada out of his reverie.

"Matthew, please don't take this the wrong way...but why did you save me? I'm not anyone particularly important to you" Prussia looked fairly torn apart and on another person's face, his expression would be one of misery.

There was a moment of quiet as Matthew was surprised by the question, though he should have realized that it was coming or some variation of it. Taking a deep breath and gathering his courage he explained what he had been thinking of for the past few years "As to the second part, you're wrong. Historically wise and from a human's perspective, Prussia would mean nothing to Canada except as settlers and opponents in the First and Second World Wars but as we are, from our perspective? That is far from the truth. It might even be because you have had nothing to do with my country that you became important to me. While you had nothing to do with the settling of my nation, when I had to go to Versailles and Papa France was off, gone all the time with work or with some woman, you would come watch over me instead. Remember? You would play with me, read to me and pay attention to me, something not a lot of people did then, I would always hope that each day would be a day you could come. Sometimes you'd bring little Germany and we would play together, though I'm not sure if he remembers that. Your company made that time more endurable for me as I was torn between peoples and cultures. You also saw me in meetings, you came and talked to me, you saved me in the First World War, you came and demanded pancakes at ungodly hours of the morning" That earned a weak chuckle from them both

"...You saved me from my loneliness. Because we didn't have a lot of actual history together has let me see you as I think you let few do... I mean, when I was looking after you, you didn't see the need to put on any false front like you probably would have if it was England or Austria but showed me when you felt scared, were in pain or unhappy. I felt really lucky that you trusted me enough to do that. Um... I like your laugh, how you are boisterous and don't seem to care what the others think. That you are still your own person despite it all. You noticed I was missing and came after me. Hell, you even sacrificed your remaining nationhood for my life. And now, now you are one of my provinces, making you even more special to me. So please don't say you are not important to me, you are one of the people most dear to me in the world, even if it isn't exactly Prussia to Canada but rather Gilbert to Matthew."

There was a brief moment of quiet before Canada continued to a speechless Gilbert, brushing away the few tears that had gathered in his eyes "To your question, I saved you for two reasons, one being that it was the right thing to do and the other, was that my heart told me to, I just felt that I couldn't lose you..." Taking a deep breath, Matthew at last raised his voice (even with the spell gone, he was quiet) and shouted "That somewhere along the line, I fell in love with you!"

There was a brief silence as Matthew looked down at the floor, suddenly exhausted, he then felt a gentle hand on his cheek, brushing tears he hadn't even realized he was shedding away before he found himself in a tight embrace.

"Thank you Matthew. Dankeschön."

Feeling a wetness on his shoulder, he realized he wasn't the only one crying. They stood like that for a while, taking comfort from each other and crying their eyes out before Gilbert leaned back a little, his red eyes staring right back at worried violet ones.

"Thank you for saving me. Thank you for loving me. When I found out you were gone, it felt like someone had punched a hole in my chest and ripped my heart out. Things just weren't right and it was then that I realized I loved you and I was so worried that I would never get you back, never see you again and tell you how I felt... Thank you. I'm, I'm just so relieved that you felt the same. This...What... Just Awesome. Yeah. You are awesome, mein Vogel."

Then he leaned down, tilted the others chin up and kissed him.

* * *

**Omake**

"We're hereeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Pèreeeee... _câlice_."

"What? Oh dear..."

"Um...Dad, could you take that somewhere else."

"Shhhh. Be quiet, they were just kissing!"

"But he's now supposed to be my brother...ish anyway"

"Well at this rate it might be more brother-in-law"

"Does that mean we'll be related to Germany, Austria and Hungary?"

"Well aren't the Germanics also Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Sweden? Having Finland as a relative wouldn't be too bad and I could go to the shooting range with Switzy..."

"Well if so, we need to help get that sticks out of Ludwig's and Roderich asses and have some fun! Do you think some Screech would help?"

"Your Screech can take paint of the walls, I don't think Feliciano would like it if you sent him to the hospital"

"Speaking of hospitals, who was the one who got England's there? I'm proud to say I gave him that shiner but we might have to apologize for that, where that cast is cannot be comfortable..."

"I'm going to go get the brain bleach now..."

Matthew looked over and in the doorway stood all of his 'children' with looks ranging from moderately disturbed to fascinated. Then a polar bear head poked up through above their heads – because with the seal gone, Kumajiro had grown and was now a full grown polar bear – and sniffed before commenting "Burning"

"...SHIT! THE SHEPARD'S PIE!"

* * *

**The song is 'Take Me Away" by Globus and it was while I first listening to it that this entire story occurred to me so I had to put it in there somewhere.**

**Said I would try and work pairings in wayyyy back in like Chap 12 or so so here is my tying up what was hopefully obvious budding romances. First time writing anything of the sort so at least I hope it was kinda obvious**

* * *

**Translate**

_Bastardo_ (It- Bastard)

 _Пельмени {Pelʹmeni}_ (Rus- Pelmeni. Tasty pastry dumplings filled typically with meatballs)

 _Бра_ т (Rus- Brother)

 _Pâtes de Cochon_  (Fr- pig feet but is actually kind of meatball dish with spices)

 _Tarte du Sucre_ (Fr- Sugar Pie)

Dankeschön (Ger- Thank you)

 _mein Vogel_  (Ger- My bird)

 _câlice_ (Qu. Slang- chalice but is curse equitable to damn it)


	24. Omake

**AN- So after Take Me Away concluded, I asked followers on Fanfiction.net if there was any questions that I hadn't answered so here we are: a collection of loose ends and missing moments (and one question as I couldn't figure out how to write it as believable character interaction) that I've had requests to look into – a lot are to do with more relationship stuff, I tried. :D**

**Divisions between _separate_ sections are by the usual lines and the  _continuous_ parts are divided by fun Xx's**

**Translations will be put at the bottom of each separate section so you won't have to scroll as much because this had become much, much longer than intended :)**

**I do not own Hetalia**

* * *

**Why was Gilbert weak way back in Chapter 7?**

Only question I'm answering directly – because Gilbert was being sustained partly as East Germany, as the two halves become more similar it was more Canada's land that was supporting him. So when Canada fell through the portal, New Prussia, like all the other provinces collapsed as the connection was severed so because he had Germany's land he remained conscious but was exhausted. This is why when he goes to the other side, he's as right as rain (and doesn't suffer a similar thing because Germany was also with him). This means that, wait for it, the rescue party could've followed the thread binding Gilbert as a Province to his host nation, Canada. However to notice such ties, you need to look for them and no one knew to. I hope that helps.

* * *

**How did Canada spend his time in the other world before everything went wrong (worse)?**

"Could...Could you run that past me again Chesh?"

It was during the first few weeks of Canada's entrapment in the  _Tír na nÓg_ and of his companionship Cheshire and while he was thankful for it, the overgrown cat was even more demanding then Kumajiro.

"I want some fish~ I need you to catch me some. In this river. Here. Yep. Plenty of tasty Salmon in this stream."

Canada began to rub his temples to ward of the impending headache. "...And why can't you catch any fish yourself? You have a much better chance then I do, you have claws, I got nothing."

The Snow-leopard looking cat scoffed at him. "I'm a cat. I don't  _do_ wet unless I must! This fur gets so heavy when I go in the water. You could get fish  _for_ me and then I'm nice and dry at night for when you get cold. A win-win scenario, yep!"

It was the weirdest thing to hear a five year old's arguments in deep, gravely voice but he was somewhat right – Canada would be wanting dry warmth at night. It got cold and he had yet to catch any game with thicker fur.

So he stood with a sigh and was soon knee deep in the cold river, stooped over the water, arms dangling and hands submerged. Catching fish with your hands took patience and time, lots and lots of time. This was because first, the fish need to get used to his presence, then once they do, he needs one to swim where his hands are waiting to snatch it up.

After an hour or so, luck was with him and a large example of Salmon was within his reach. So with the skill of a practised hunter (he had to do this many time in his youth after all), he grabbed it and hoisted it of the water.

"Chesh I caught one!" He cried with delight and Katerz's ears pricked up with delight from where he had been napping. However, before the furball could go claim it's meal, the fish spoke.

"Wait! Please young master! If you let me go, I will grant you three wishes!"

Matthew froze, still dangling the fish by it's tail before he said with a gasp. "...THE FISH IS TALKING TO ME!"

Later, once he got over his shock, he wished for three simple things. One, he wished for two fishes each for him and Chesh, second he wished for warmer clothes then what he had now and third...

He wished for a bottle of real, Canadian Maple Syrup.

* * *

**Bonding time with England and Canada, how were the two after everything?**

After the  _Incident_ (as Matthew had begun to call it), Francis had insisted upon Matthew and Arthur having some quality Father-Son time together which had then led to Arthur confiding in Matthew his plans for Francis's birthday and asking for his help.

Which Canada didn't mind in the least, he was happy to help with decorations and the like and it was only for the last two items that he began to regret agreeing to help.

Arthur wanted to bake a cake, and worse, wanted to learn how to make pancakes.

Matthew was afraid that his favourite breakfast food, the meal which he held above all others, was about to be corrupted. In a horrible burnt fashion that would make the Toaster incident of '88 look like child's play...

But he had already agreed to help the Brit and France would be upset with him ruining their rebuilt bond, though so would Matthew. He had wanted the Brit to acknowledge him for a while and now he was. Well, if he got instamix pancakes, it shouldn't be too bad...right?

xXxXxXxXxXx

"Okay Arthur." Matthew said as he put on an apron, baking soda close at hand. "We're going to start with the absolute basics today, them as you get more comfortable with that, we can build up to cooking from scratch."

Arthur, putting on his own apron looked up, offended. "Are you saying I can't cook?"

"No."  _Yes._ "I'm just saying that it's always hard when you first learn to make something so it's always best to start with the simplest version and work up. From scratch pancakes can be easily ruined if you don't get the combinations of floor, eggs, sugar, milk and salt _just_ right. They'll end up falling apart or being the consistency of rubber. So that's why we're starting up with this stuff first." He gestured to the side where the box of Aunt Jemima's sat, contaminating his kitchen with it's awful presence. Never before had instapancake powder been in his kitchen. Deep breath Matthew, deep breath, you can do this.

Arthur, looking somewhat placated by the response, rolled up his sleeves and said eagerly. "Alright then my lad, where do we begin?"

"Well, first we collect everything we need. Sooo, a measuring cup, frying pan, bowl, spatula and some butter plus the powder."

Setting out everything on the counter, they then read  _all_ of the instructions (for Arthur's benefit, Matthew didn't think that any of the three steps were possible to screw up but he had been wrong before.) before implementing them.

1 cup powder and ½ cup of water and they were mixing the batter. Matthew watched closely over Arthur's shoulder as he whisked it with a fork and gave his approval when everything was properly mixed together.

"Alright, so now we heat up the pan and add a little butter on the bottom to keep the pancakes from sticking. If you smell the butter burning, the temperature is too hot and you need to turn the burner down, if the butter takes a long time to melt, it's probably too low. Use your judgement but you typically want it to be around the medium setting, alright?"

Furrowing his brow in concentration, England did as Canada directed and soon there were two pancakes cooking merrily under England's close watch.

Matthew almost wanted to laugh at England looming over the pan, spatula ready, his glare daring, just daring the fluffy pancakes to burn. Instead, he swallowed his mirth and said "England, don't worry. They will not burn that quickly, and we need to give them time to cook a little. You'll know they're ready to flip when the batter on top begins to bubble."

England relaxed a little, but still hovered, wanting to prove his skill in cooking. When the pancakes began to bubble, Canada showed him how to flip them (not flipping them in the air, but just turning them over with a spatula) and soon, they had finished the entire batch.

While England began to do a victory dance (and Canada made sure the pan was off the burner and the burner was off), Canada stealthy took a picture of the stack of perfectly made pancakes, if someone questioned him when he was in the hospital about why he had been so dumb as to eat England's food, he would show it to them as proof. Together, the two had made perfect pancakes, or at least, as perfect as instamix pancakes could get.

Canada smiled slightly at seeing England so happy, got the syrup out and said. "Well now Arthur, it's the moment of truth. Let's try them, shall we?"

And to his surprise, they were completely edible.

They spent the next few days practising, working up to adding some blueberries and raspberries into the mix until Arthur was at last able to make them completely unsupervised. They had even gotten Prussia to try them who declared them to be alright, though Canada's were better.

To England, those were words were the best praise and he spent the day they cooked the cake (also instamix and nearly impossible to mess up) on Cloud Nine. The night before France's birthday, Matthew sent Arthur home with the chocolate cake they had made and Canada's own present for his Papa, then he made one very important phone call.

"Bonjour, Papa? C'est Mathieu... It's about England... No! No problems, just, please eat anything he presents you with tomorrow without commenting on the fact that it's not cooked from scratch...yes it's edible...no I haven't gone delusional from the fumes...He's been trying really hard! Gilbert even said they were passable...Do you want him to ever acknowledge that you are dating? Arthur will kill you!"

* * *

**PruCan Date (From Chapter 17 or 18 I think?)**

Matthew was really excited. He had finally,  _finally_ been given a clear bill of health by China and Austria (as the nation's "doctors") for Prussia and also for himself. It had been a few months since both of their rival and a few weeks since Gilbert regained consciousness. Gilbert immediately after hearing the good news had asked him out on a date. Their first one as an official couple.

Matthew was  _really_ excited.

All he knew was that Prussia was picking him up early in the morning before they would spend the day out – so clothing: nice but casual and a pair of well broken in shoes. So he sat waiting in the kitchen with a stack of raspberry pancakes in a pair of dark blue jeans, a white wifebeater and an undone light blue button up.

Exactly at 7:30, he heard knocking on the door, and upon opening it, he had a bouquet suddenly in his face. In those stratling seconds, part of him recalled Arthur's lessons as he looked at the Globe Amaranths i _mmortal love and fidelity_ , nestled in with pink Camellias  _longing_  and pink Camellias  _I'll never forget you_. There was also feverfew  _protection_ and ferns  _sincerity_ surrounded by Orchids  _love and beauty_ and in the centre of it all was one red rose  _Love you_ surrounded by Maple Leaves and Blue Cornflowers, both their national flowers (though his was technically a tree). Looking beside the bouquet, he saw Gilbert's blushing, his entire face dark red (ah, the dangers of being albino).

"Thank you Gilbert." He said, a blush staining his own cheeks, taking it with trembling hands and dashing off to the kitchen to put them in a vase and some water, leaving the door open behind him for Gilbert. "They're beautiful."

Gilbert toed his foot awkwardly at the door, hands in his pockets and looking at the ground. "So you ready to go Mattie?"

"Of course Gil, though have you already had breakfast? Because I made three pancakes for you."

Gilbert looked torn. Plan for the day (Ludwig did have to get from somewhere). Pancakes. Plan for the dayyyyyyy. Pancakes...He would find some other way to keep them on track, it was only a few minutes anyway, he decided, before sitting down and making quick work of the pancakes.

"Thanks Matt, that was good." He said as he put his dishes in the dishwasher before tugging his Canadian to the door. "Let's go!"

x

Matthew sipped his hot chocolate as they left the Tim Hortons, it now being early May, it was a little chilly especially because it was early morning. He and Prussia were walking down the sidewalk along the Rideau, Prussia with a coffee in his left right and Matt with a hot chocolate in his right, their hands intertwined and swinging.

Canada had always enjoyed his capital, though he still sometimes had difficulty telling that this was the same lumber town it had been just a little over a century ago. They sat down on a bench opposite the buildings and watched as the city slowly came to life, just enjoying the quiet.

Over the course of the day, they visited the Museum of Civilization, the Canadian War Museum and la Musée des sciences et de la technologie du Canada (Science and Technology Museum of Canada) before they went to the National Gallery.

They hadn't stayed there long as soon after they had found the abstract section (and had a very amusing time attempting to decipher them), they stumbled upon the Group of Seven paintings and those of Emily Carr. Prussia had begun to turn very red again as he looked at all the wild landscapes and knowing art wasn't really Prussia's thing, Canada decided to let him off the hook. Chuckling, Prussia dragged him out and they went to the nearby Byward market and got some ice cream instead.

So far the day had been great and Matthew couldn't see how it could get any better until Prussia, with an enormous grin on his face dragged him over to a nearby ice rink before handing him a pair of skates.

He stood corrected, he now couldn't see how it could get any better as they skated around the ice. Matthew lapping and tugging Gilbert along – who couldn't really skate as during the USSR, any of those living with Ivan who could were made to play hockey against him. Self preservation really. So after Matthew realized this, he began to help him and soon they were playing tag, weaving in and out of crowds. Laughing, they managed to stumble back to Canada's apartment where they lay on the couch and napped for a little.

x

Matthew woke up with a blanket over him and the smell of potatoes and bacon in the air. Sitting up, he saw Prussia setting two plate of pirogi and salad on the table and beginning to uncork a bottle of ice wine.

"Gilbert...what's all this?" He said smiling. "I didn't even know you could could cook!"

"My skills are many for I...am awesome." Prussia said with a smirk as he turned around and leaned over the back of the couch, rubbing noses with Canada. "Never doubt me again Liebling."

"Mmm. I'll wait and see how it tastes before I say anything of the sort." Matthew said cheekily, giving him a kiss on the cheek and quickly making his escape, darting over to the table. "Though it does smell lovely."

It was after dinner that Gilbert revealed his pièce de la résistance, an old gramophone in the living room followed by an old Leonard Cohen record. Before grabbing Matthew's hand and guiding him to the dance floor, where they proceeded to slow dance.

Matthew smiled as they slowly went around the room, dancing to tunes from  _Hallelujah_ to  _Dance Me to the End of Love._

"Gil...today was perfect. How long have you been planning this?" Matthew murmured as they moved together.

Gilbert leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "You wouldn't remember, but way back when you were...recovering, I was thinking about something I read once and it was then I promised myself I would take you dancing. That you wouldn't be a wallflower this time then from there I just kind of planned what I would do around that...and you get today."

Canada hummed thoughtfully before he said, "Well, for our next date then, you can show me around Germany, maybe go to a bird sanctuary and go paintballing. How does that sound?"

Gilbert smiled gently hugging the other closed as they just swayed to the music. "That sounds good Birdie."

Matthew inconspicuously looked over the Prussian's shoulder until they were in front of the chesterfield before he gently pushed him forward. "How about I thank you properly for the fantastic day?"

Gilbert, at first, looked up confused at the looming Canadian before a smirk bloomed across his features. "Oh?" He said, quizzically, reaching for the other's belt loops, "How do you plan on doing that?"

Then he found his lap full of loving Canadian who then proceeded to kiss him, hard.

All in all, a good day.

_**Translations** _

_Liebling_ (Ger- love)

* * *

**RusAme Relationship PLEASE!**

Today was the first time in a long time that both America and Russia had had free time from their countries affairs and were able to spend it together. Rather then go watch a movie or something like that, Alfred had suggesting they go for a bit of a hike, to show off his topography and all that. So they were now hiking up along Appalachian Trail from Neels Gap to Woody Gap in Georgia, an 11 mile trek (18 km). Needless to say, this was a day long event for them and had plans to have a picnic at the top of Preacher's Rock.

Yet despite having planned this day weeks in advance with Alfred, things were not going to plan. Again. He didn't really mind, after all, it exactly uncommon for that to happen when he was with his American love. It's just, he didn't know why they bother to try and plan things out anymore.

"C'mon Ivan! Your age catching up with you?" Alfred called over his shoulder as he ran ahead of the Russian up the steep incline, far, far away from the actual trail. He seemed to forget that while he could never get lost on his own land, Russia could. Though he didn't  _mind_ getting lost in his America, he'd just much rather do so at home.

Muttering something along the lines of  _regretting letting his Красавчик have 6 cups of coffee before they left,_ he hurried to catch up to Alfred.

However, the American, on a caffeine high, decided it was about to become a game of tag, much to Russia's dismay and awakened his Golden Eagle Totem.

As the other darted through the trees, jumping high with his hollow bones, Russia stopped and took of his coat, scarf and gloves and put them in the rucksack they had brought with the food and water. Though it was late fall and a bit chilly, he was really going to have to run to catch his foolish beloved and would appreciate it in a moment.

After all, in all his time in the Soviet Union, not once had one of his comrades ever managed to elude his capture in a game of cat and mouse. Alfred would not escape him, and he was foolish to try.

Amused grin in place, he was soon darting in and out of the trees at a speed that would rival many Olympians. Despite the speed he was moving, he knew how to keep his presence largely unnoticed and soon he was running under Alfred who was running and swinging from tree branch to tree branch. However, just as he got to the crest of the hill and Alfred was within his reach (who wasn't paying attention, silly man), the Golden Eagle shrieked a warning and with his loud laugh, Alfred waggled a finger at him and abruptly changed directions so that instead of swinging to the next tree, he instead launched himself off the side of the small cliff.

Ivan's mind shut down and in that moment of sheer panic  _why did his Красавчик never think before doing something stupid?_ , he leaped out after him, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him close. Judging by Alfred's shocked expression, America had just realized what a dumb thing he had just done – both in trying to escape him and also in jumping off the side like that – but Ivan had to revise that opinion when his face split into a large grin.

"COOL DUDE!" Alfred shouted as he set them gently on the ground. "You never told me you had figured out what your totem was!"

Irked that he had momentarily forgotten America had wings (and Ivan called him absentminded!), Russia missed the second part of the sentence and when faced with Alfred's expectant look, he tried to ask him what he had said but instead all that came out was instead:

"Mr-eoooow -owww."

His confusion continued as Alfred picked him up and began to swing him around. "You are too cute Vanya!"

Just what was going on? He could feel his tail twitching in irritation... Tail?

Squirming, he managed to escape Alfred's hold and realized that he had four white giant paws and a fluffy tail. Judging by the spots, he had somehow turned himself into a snow leopard.

"Mrwwww." He whined, not happy about this new development.

And this is why they should never attempt to plan their dates, if it wasn't Alfred, then the Gods were trying to mess up their days together for them. At least there was never a dull moment with his love...

x

The next hour or so of their hike was quiet, much to Alfred's discomfort. He knew that he shouldn't have laughed or called his Vanya cute when he accidentally called out his totem's power. Especially when he did so to try and save him from falling... but he couldn't help it! He looked so adorable like that!

However, when they at last managed to coax him back into his normal form, Russia had seemed less enthusiastic (his pride hurt at being "cute") about the entire thing then America had been and so had been semi-shunning him since. Which for a very personable person like Alfred, was like torture, especially when the person ignoring him was Ivan.

He pouted, hopefully he would be forgiven before they got to the picnic point, not Preacher's Rock like they had planned but somewhere a bit more private and closer...He hoped that he hadn't managed to ruin their entire day, cause he had something special he wanted to do later there...maybe he should wait for another day.

Realizing Ivan was getting ahead of him as he was lost in his thought, Alfred hurried to catch up with new determination. No. Everything would go as planned, he was the hero after all and so far, besides that little hiccough, everything was going okay – Natalia was still nowhere to be found (He would need to buy something very nice when he went to go visit Toris in the hospital as thanks) and no one had called him or Ivan demanding they return.

This would work. He would make it work.

In the meantime, he relaxed his shoulders and face before he ran forward to grab his boyfriend's hand and swung their hands together. "Vanya! Slow down! There's no rush!"

Ivan smiled gently at him, a sign that he was tenuously forgiven. "But Моя маленькая птичка, you were in such a hurry before."

Alfred scrunched up his face as he tried to recall the Russian he'd been learning from Katyusha and Toris over the past few months combined with what he'd had to learn over the Cold War. "Did...Did you just call me a bird?" He asked tentatively, not sure if he should be offended or pleased by the nickname.

"Da!" Answered Russia. "My little bird."

Well then, that was a challenge. America smiled back and said, "If I'm a bird, then you're my Снежный барс. My Leopard?...Was that the right translation?"

Russia's smile dimmed somewhat and America could've kicked himself "Close enough."

Right then, damage control. "I'm glad! It's better then calling you a bear." Ivan looked at him, startled. "What? You have a bunch of names for me! Красавчик, дорогой and others but all the ones I can think of are too sugary for my taste or ridiculous. I'm not going to go around calling you babe or stud, the best I could think of was tiger or bear which just reminded me too much of your time as the USSR really and communism which makes me slightly uncomfortable as my nation still hasn't really gotten over McCarthyism and..."

A pair of soft lips on his own cut off his rambling and the world disappeared around them as Alfred focused on his boyfriend. As they separated, panting, he said. "What was that for? Not that I minded."

"You were rambling...and your pronunciation is getting much better, I like it when you speak my mother tongue дорогой."

America smirked and leaned forward, his lips just brushing Ivan's as he said "Oh really, Снежный барс?" Then, before the Russian could bridge the gap, he leaned back and with a playful smile, he said "Well, we'd better get going! We're nearly there!"

Walking off, he was amused to hear growled Russian behind him before a warm hand grabbed his own and he heard a muttered "Better be worth it."

 _Oh. But it will be...I hope._ America thought as he after coming over the next hill, he turned to the left and dragged him off the path. When Ivan protested, he simply said "I know a better spot."

After a few minutes, the threes receded and they came to a meadow from where they could see much of the valley below.

"Great view huh?" Alfred asked, suddenly very nervous.

"Yes it is." Ivan said quietly, sitting down, Alfred joining him. After a few moments of silence, Russia turned to his obviously uncomfortable partner, placed his hand over his and managed to get eye contact. "Alfred, Моя маленькая птичка, what's wrong? And don't try to tell me there is nothing, you are practically shaking."

Al wet his lips, it was now or never, he couldn't back down after a set up like that. "Iva- No. Vanya. Russia. We've known each other for a very long time and we've been dating for a while and I'm..." Oh this was too hard, maybe if he used those lines Katyusha had been helping him with... "Мне так хорошо с тобою. Люблю тебя всем сердцем, всей душою." He confessed, before steeling himself for what he was going to say next. "Ivan Braginski, personification of Russia, will you marry me? Just...Just as Alfred and Ivan. No politics or other motives, Ты нужна мне. In my life, by my side. So, Ты выйдешь за меня?" "

Ivan looked at him wide eyed and frozen before, slowly, a blush spread up to the Slavic man's ears and cheeks.

"I-Ivan?" Alfred began to panic, had he broken Russia?

Then he found himself on his back as the Russian tackled him and proceeded to kiss him senseless there in the grass.

 _Well that was a yes,_ he thought happily.  _Also totally worth proper Russian pronunciation, especially if Ivan always reacted like this._

_**Translations** _

_Красавчик_ (Rus – Handsome. Apparently this is an acceptable nickname for a boyfriend.)

 _Моя маленькая птичка._  (Rus- My little bird)

 _Снежный барс._  (Rus- Snow Leopard)

 _дорогой_ (Rus- Darling)

 _Мне так хорошо с тобою._ (Rus- I'm happiest with you.)

 _Люблю тебя всем сердцем, всей душою_ (Rus- I love you with all my heart, my being)

 _Ты нужна мне_  (Rus- I need you)

 _Ты выйдешь за меня?_ (Rus- Will you marry me?)

* * *

**What happened to the Navi fairy?**

When it kept telling him to listen and giving pointless bits of advice as he lay on his 'hospital' bed, Mathias snapped and with his good arm managed to snatch it out of the air before he grabbed the nearest object...

"G-Guys? This isn't funny! Let me out!" The little blue ball of light shouted from his bottle prison as he floated downriver.

* * *

**How did Canada meet up with Cheshire and Flying Mint Bunny ?**

Canada was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Hopefully his plan would work as it was getting harder and harder to hide his other conscience from  _her_ , that he had had that of Matthew Williams and that of Canada (with a few billion composing that one). If she caught on who and what he actually was, not only would she immediately bear all of her will down in controlling him in an attempt to subjugate his thousands of consciousness but with his blood, she would be able to reopen the portals and send an army to Earth.

Not. Good.

However, if he made his move too soon, she would notice and the results would be the same...

Luck came soon after his fight with Australia (he had been terrified when his body attempted to kill his cousin) and a powerful explosion ruptured the soul jars the he had his chance. With the breaking, she had to focus all of her mind on subduing the newly freed consciences making her blind to anything else that was going on.

Namely him taking advantage of her distraction and stealing both Chesh's and Matthew William's consciences back and "accidentally" breaking them while knocking over a number of other shelves housing imprisoned consciences creating the perfect diversion. The thing was that Cheshire was being used among  _her_ higher officials and there was no way for Canada to get him out.

So while he succeeded in freeing his new best friend, they had ended up like this...sharing a body. At first this was rather awkward until Chesh figured out he could house the majority of his conscience in the body of the enchanted spider which had the added bonus of hiding most of Canada's presence from any of Morgan's efforts to track him down.

Magically at least, despite his altered appearance (ears, claws and a long tail) she could not find him, but physically, despite his best efforts, there were still traces left behind that they could find and track. They had been hunted down to a nearby swamp area, and Matthew knew he was cornered, one wrong move, and he was done. Luckily his scent was lost in the swamp but any movement of his part would result in discovery...He needed some may to completely alter his appearance and scent, and like a godsend, he found Mint.

Or more specifically, Flying Mint Bunny found him. As one of Arthur's former charges, the rabbit was quite familiar with him and upon smelling his scent had proceeded to track him down. So it was there, hiding in the reeds that Mint also decided to fuse with his body and by using the rabbit's power combined with his own (little that it was), he managed to teleport them out of there and far away.

* * *

**More GerIta! Please?**

North Italy shifted the key in the lock with no small amount of satisfaction.

He, Veneziano, had been bestowed the great honour of having Germany's house key.

He smirked. No more sneaking in through the living room to sneak into Ludwig's bed, no more feeling like a thief in the night. He could go through the front door, head held high and be tackled by Aster, Blackie and Berlitz (though that usually happened anyway).

Today, he had come over for lunch, Ludwig's boss had asked him to work overtime to catch up on the work he had missed while being in the Tír na nÓg and he was going to make sure that his boyfriend wasn't missing his meals or sleep again.

However, when he went to Ludwig's office, he was surprised to see the man sprawled on the couch beside the desk, fast asleep, a stack of reports on the ground. Looking at his watch, he was delighted to see it was 3:00, it was time for a siesta~ Shifting the report in Ludwig's hands to the floor with it's fellows, Feli wriggled up underneath the slumbering German's arm and to his side.

However before he fell asleep, he noticed a small smile on the German's face and he twitched slightly. Giving a perverted smirk that would've looked more at home on France's face rather then his own, Feliciano thought that it looked like his love was having a good dream.

May as well join him.

So Veneziano closed his eyes and went to sleep, calling on his totem as he did so...and opened them, staring up at a sunny, very blue sky.

Sitting up, he was amused to see that he was lying half in, half out of the ocean and on white sand. Then, looking around, he was astonished to see that this was the same Island that he and the others had been trapped on in World War Two... then he saw Germany and all thoughts went out the window. The German was running around playing with his dogs in nothing more then a simple pair of black, gold and red swim trunks.

"Ger~many!" He called out, waving enthusiastically.

Upon seeing his love sitting in the water, Ludwig stopped playing with his beloved animals and ran over, happy smile on his face.

"Italy! Are you...actually here?" After all there had been times before this where the Italian had invaded his dreams and others when the boy was actually just part of his dreams. It could get very confusing...

"Yep! It's me~ Do you want to go swimming?" Feliciano asked happily.

Soon enough they were swimming about and dunking each other - which surprisingly enough had been started by Italy. Germany had finally gotten the upper hand on his love by hoisting him above the water to tickle him in retribution when suddenly there was an invasion of dolphins swarming him who somehow grabbed North Italy from his hands and swam away with him.

He stood there puzzled for a moment before he realized that one of them had stolen his swim trunks.

"Italy! Give me my shorts back! This will  _not_ be one of those dreams! Verstehen du mich?

**_Translations_ **

_Verstehen du mich?_ (Ger- do you understand me? Informal)

* * *

**Canada being looked after in WWI (no specific battle in mind when writing this sorry)**

The shells burst around him and gunfire whizzed by, seeming to just barely miss him. He looked around him, this town was probably beautiful once, judging by what remained of the stonework. Perhaps this house wall that he now cowered behind once belonged to a small family with one girl and two boys, with high hopes for the turn of the century.

Instead the two boys were sent to go be cannon fodder, to kill and be killed in turn and the girl sent away in hopes of preserving the next generation.

He chuckled humorlessly, it was pointless to think of such things, getting distracted here would only get him killed which would cause a huge amount of paperwork for him if anyone happened to see him die.

Signing to the boys behind him, the twelve of them cautiously darted out into the open then into the next house. This wasn't good, the German bombardment wasn't letting up and he could see through his scope that they were getting reinforcements in. At this rate they'd be outflanked and trapped, they would have to retreat for now...Britain would not be happy with him but he would not lose more lives just to get out of a scolding.

Catching each member of his squadron's eyes he quickly used hand signs, designating groups, rendezvous point and that he was bringing up the rear.

Not giving them any time to complain, he sent the first group then the next. When both were in the clear his group went, this time being the most dangerous as the enemy was now fixed on their position. As they ran across more gunfire opened up on them and with the roar of an overhead shell, the world around them exploded. Ears ringing, he could sense the deaths of the two who had been with him and with a quick prayer, managed to struggle to his feet and make a break for shelter.

Leaning up against the wall, he watched as his wounds from the shrapnel miraculous closed and waited. His men had seen the shell hit their group so if he stumbled into camp with alive and with no injuries, there would be questions none of them could afford.

He shivered in cold, cursing his uniform for being torn up by the explosion and not giving him any protection against the light rain and northern breeze. Sure, he was Canada and wouldn't die from the dropping temperatures but that didn't stop him from being uncomfortable.

Shifting a little, he was surprised when an enormous pain ran up his side and looking down, he was surprised by the spot of blooming red...Had he been shot? He gently moved his shirt and was amazed to see his entire right side to be a gaping open wound.

Then the pain hit him and his legs collapsed from underneath him but he barely registered hitting the ground. He arched his back trying to get away from the pain, ears ringing and eyes blind to his surroundings, his mouth open in a silent scream.

_The Imo (a steamer) and Mont Blanc (a French munitions ship) had collided in his harbour in Halifax and there was no time to evacuate, as in less then 20 minutes, the fire of the French ship caught its cargo: 2,700 tons of explosives. The burning increased as all of Halifax was levelled by the blast and a tidal wave and firestorm followed in its wake._

So caught was he in the enormous pain in his side, he failed to hear "Mein Hauptmann! Wir haben etwas gefunden!" and the crunching of gravel.

_He could feel them, the dead and dying, the injured, their pain, their misery, their mourning. Over 3000 dead, nearly 10000 injured and more than 200 blinded, his city and area destroyed and burning. It hurt, it hurt so badly..._

"Kanada?" When the man got no response, he gently poked the man with his foot. "Oi! Kanada!"

The reaction he got surprised him as the blonde let out a guttural scream of agony then passed out.

x

When Canada woke, he sat up with a gasp, he couldn't see. Why couldn't he see? Tentatively, he reached a hand up and felt the light bandages wrapped against them. Probably best to move them then, he thought before he shivered violently as he felt the blizzard that had taken hold of the city. He went deeper into his mind to further investigate what had caused his injuries and what he saw disheartened him but at the same time, he felt his people begin to pick themselves up, the Navy had been sent in and some of Alfred's people were there already helping too...

Deciding it would best to investigate the damage more thoroughly, he moved his hands over to his side, he groaned as each movement re-awoke new pains.

"Wurde auch Zeit, dass du aufwachst, Kanada." Echoed around the room as he also heard a door click shut.

Canada jerked in recognition and in that heart stopping second he realized that not only was he in an actual bed (which were in short supply where he had been) but that his ankles were bound.

"P-Prussia?" He blindly looked about trying to find the voice.

"Got it in one, dummkopf."

He heard the creaking of old floor boards before he heard the sounds of a chair dragged across the floor followed by the grunt of someone sitting and the creaking of wood.

There was a moment or two of silence before both of them began to speak at once.

"Where am..."

"What happ..."

Then as one they said. "Um...You first!"

Then there was another moment of quiet before Prussia answered. "You're at my house kid." Probably noticing Canada's panic he quickly said. "Don't worry! None of the higher ups know you're here and they would know better then to search my house for any harboured soldiers...Now, what happened to you?"

Canada looked down to where his hands were and choked out "H-Halifax. It's gone."

He heard a swift intact of breath beside him before Prussia said haltingly. "Gone?"

"Levelled, destroyed, annihilated, take your pick. One of France's ships carrying explosives ignited, I'm not quite sure how yet, and, well,  **Boom**... So many are dead, many more are still buried in the debris..."

Prussia chuckled humorlessly. "I'd believe that, I was the one who patched you up. Never seen such a large injury caused by damage to the nation before."

That reminded Canada, "I'm sorry if this seems rude but why did you help me? We're enemies right now."

The answer was as blunt as any his brother could have made. "So? We're still family in a sense and to leave you in the dust like that with a (to humans) fatal injury would be cruel. Especially since you're my best friend's son."

"A best friend you are at war with." Canada reminded.

"Well, he can be a real schweinehund at times." Prussia said defensively though there was mirth in the tone. "And anyways...it's not personal, just like it wasn't when Napoleon attacked me. After a while, it gets to a point where you don't really care if you're at war with them or not as in a few decades it's all history anyway."

"If you say so Prussia..."

"Call me Gilbert."

"O-Oh, okay. You can call me Matthew if you like."

There was a creak of old wood as he guessed Prussia got back to his feet before he felt the loosening of the bandages around his face and then the removal of the bonds on his feet. "Alright Matthäus, now that you know where you are and who you're with (the awesome me), no running away. Let's take a look at how the stitches are holding up."

Canada felt distressed when he opened his eyes and despite no longer having bandages on them, could not see anything. He was blind.

At the minute whimper, Prussia looked up and saw the distressed look on the Canadian's face. "Matt, what's wrong?"

"I-I can't see. I guess too many were blinded at once with the blast."

"Oh. Well..um, in that case, it should probably clear up in a few days. Now I'm going to take a look at your side, let me know if I'm hurting you."

Surprised at how gentle the infamous invader of vital regions was being, Canada nodded his compliance. He felt gentle fingers run over his injuries, burns and frostbite, added some creams before bandaging him back up.

Overwhelmed suddenly by exhaustion (he hoped he wasn't going hypothermic from the blizzards that were hitting his East Coast), he began to fall asleep once more as he heard the click of the door again. He was safe, or at least as safe he could be in enemy territory.

**_Translations_ **

_Mein Hauptmann! Wir haben etwas gefunden!_ (Ger- Captain! We have found something!)

 _Wurde auch Zeit, dass du aufwachst, Kanada_ (Ger- about time you woke up Canada)

 _arschloch_ (Ger- ass.)

 _schweinehund_ (Ger- pig dog. Nasty insult)

* * *

**Adventures of Portal Reawakening**

"Hurry up Wales!" Kathleen shouted through her suit.

Aneiren tried, but the humidity (even with the protective suit!) was killing him, sapping all his strength causing him to slip on the crystals as they climbed.

However, he felt better when his sibling turned to chide him again, in her haste she slipped and slide all the way down the hill.

"Take your time Kathleen" He answered, hiding his amusement. "The crystals aren't going anywhere."

"Bastard..."

"Love you too."

The Crystal caves were rather unpleasant, though Wales was relieved that he hadn't had the misfortune of ending up having to go to Mt. Etna or Everest.

At last they managed to get to the peak and had located what was likely to be the portal stone. Then they realized a crucial problem... that in reawakening the portals, one of them would be drained momentarily of their power and pass out and part two of that being that one of their suits would have to be discarded in order to do so.

The suits that protected them from the crippling temperature and humidity...

In a stand-off, both stared the other down until they both whipped out their hands in what was quite possibly the most dramatic game of rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock,  _ever._

"HAH! LIZARD POISONS SPOCK! I WIN!"

Aneiren sighed, today really just wasn't his day. Then, taking a deep breath of cool air, he quickly took off his suit and cut his hand, placing it upon the stone. Luckily they had picked right he thought as glowing runes appeared all over and he felt his magic being drawn in.

Then he knew no more.

x

"You stupid, pitiful excuse for a father, why could you not leave well enough alone? If we both die here, I will not let you rest in peace for a thousand years." Francis spat through his gas mask.

Both England and France were halfway up Mt. Etna, an active volcano. Not like Vesuvius active, as in could erupt any time but rather,  _active_  as in there was actual lava flow in addition to ash, smoke and toxic gas. Though they were somewhat lucky in that lava wise the volcano had become somewhat dormant, having erupted violently about 6 hours before.

And with his Broccos guiding them, it seemed that they had to go right through the thick of it in order to reawaken the portal stone.

So England couldn't come with a retort to his long time rival, because at the moment, he really couldn't find much positive to say about himself either. First sharks, now piping hot lava. Joy.

"Can it Frenchie."

"Angleterre, there are times when I really 'ate you."

"Shaddup! Save your breath for...breathing." As despite the masks, the heat in the air was by no means reduced and it was very difficult to actual bring air in and out of his lungs.

Together they stumbled along the slopes, hands out for balance, eyes straining behind goggles to see beyond the smoke, dust and ash.

This was madness...he thought as they ran across cooling lava and through more clouds of ash. Were they there yet? There was ash beginning to get past the filters and into his already aching lungs. Surely they must be close by now...

Hearing, just barely, a grunt beside him, he turned to see Francis stumble and before he could even think about it, he was back there and caught him.

"You alright?"

Nodding his thanks and his answer, France straightened before he asked "Broccos, how much farther are we?"

The badger totem's voice sounded to the left "It's over here! Quickly you fools, something is going to happen soon, my fur is standing on end!"

Making their way through the smoke, they came to the boulder where the badger sat perched, Francis reluctantly removed the glove protecting his hand, instantly feeling his skin begin to burn and took a knife to it, before placing his bloodied palm on the rock.

As Arthur picked up his comrade, he was alarmed when he felt the ground shake below him and the with an ominous boom, Mt. Etna began once more to erupt.

"FUCK!"

x

It was now Bruce and Pat's turn, having left behind the over four at the Base Camp, that way if they needed it, they could get help. After all, there was very little space for second chances on this mountain, low oxygen, avalanches, crippling cold, bottomless crevasses, AMS and snowblindness were lying in wait for the unwary.

So, tied together with rope and wearing the warmest clothing they could get their hands on with no skin exposed and with oxygen tanks for higher up, they began the ascent.

It was very slow going, feeling out the snow in front of them with poles just in case and wading in snow that was knee deep and a wind that never seemed to stop blowing. They successfully navigated Khumbu Ice Fall, the Western Cwm and the Lhotse face though urgency pressing them, they didn't sleep. They climbed during the night with the help of headlamps and their totems despite the lowered oxygen levels and the cold making the idea awfully tempting. However, luckily as nations they were able to draw on the land and their peoples strength negating the need for sleep a little (a technique typically used only during war). During the night they passed the Geneva Spur and the Yellow Band, getting to 8000 meters (more than 26 000 feet) in height at the South Col.

Luckily, there the weather was cooperating with them, clear skies and low winds allowed them to proceed where many more had been forced to turn back and reached Camp IV. As false dawn broke, they were at the Balcony at 8400 meters (27 700 feet) and there they stopped for a small rest watching the light grace the south and eastern peaks. From there, they then faced a series of rock steps which forced them into waist deep snow.

Pat, managing to be heard through his oxygen mask and scarf said "If that git ever says we don't love him or never do anything for him, I'm going to point to this day."

Bruce, nodded before focusing on getting across the knife-edge ridge of the Cornice Traverse.

This is where things began to go wrong, Bruce slipped on some of the loose snow on the irregular rock and missteped, sending him falling down the enormous Kangshung face (3050m in height/10000 ft). Pat, cursing, managed to brace himself just as Bruce's weight caught on the line, making it taut.

"Bruce! If you ever want to see your beloved highlands again you better get your sorry ass climbing cause I can't go hauling you up without the rope fraying on th'a rock!" He shouted down at his brother who was dangling in the air like a spider of a string.

Bruce, not being able to hear Pat just shouted "You better not let go!" before beginning to climb the rope as quickly as he was able to.

At last, the two were both up on the ridge again, a few years scared off both their lives.

"I, I mean, If we survive this Pat my lad, I'm going to be buying you your drinks for a month. Alright?"

"Sounds good." Pat panted out, before he commented "We best hurry though, we both probably wasted a lot of oxygen with that stunt."

So hurrying, they quickly got over the Hillary Stop and got to the "Top of the World"

"Wow."

"No kidding..."

They had reached the top with the sunrise, illuminating the awe inspiring view below them.

"Now, how are we going to do this? Bruce asked hesitantly. "So far, not one of us has regain consciousness in less than 24 hours, meaning that one of us is going to have to carry the other back down."

"...Shit."

"Neither your totem or mine is good with cold so we can't use that... Can't use magic in front of humans, though it's still winter and climbing season doesn't start until April...only saw one or two humans out here anyway. I think that would be our best bet, a levitation spell and since you've proved more sure footed, I'll open the portal."

Pat thought for a moment before he nodded. "Sounds good. Let's hurry and do it though, I'm freezing!"

* * *

 **Could you please write that family gathering?** (nooooo i^i it's madness!)

As a joint effort for Matthew and Alfred's birthdays, Canada's provinces and territories and America's states and islands organized an enormous family gathering so everyone could get to know one another better before the actual party. So for America and Canada this obviously meant France and England. However, the Commonwealth was also invited, but out of the 54 only Australia, Cameroon, New Zealand, Seychelles and Hong Kong were able to attend. Then, because Prussia was dating Canada, all the Germanics were invited and by the same logic, so was Russia and his "family". When Germany said he was going, Veneziano said he wanted to go then by default Romano was also going as was Spain. Denmark then claimed as founder of Vinland he should be allowed to attend, especially as Sweden and Netherlands were going as part of the Germanics. Both Irelands, Scotland and Wales were also coming along, Finland came with Sweden just as Poland stick with Lithuania and China, feeling a bit unnerved by Hong Kong's disappearance before also came. They had also invited Mexico as she was sometimes considered part of North America (and at others Central America) and was their sister but she couldn't make it, instead promising to see them at the party.

Now, among the North Americans' children only one kind of pre-party event is ever considered.

Camping.

Don't like, then get lost. Do not pass Go, do not collect a hundred dollars. Thank you and have a nice day.

Yeah, camping could be a very serious business here. Taking pity (somewhat) on those that would be coming with them, the camping sites they reserved were in Algonquin park near enough to moving water that the mosquitoes and black/deer/horse flies weren't too bad. They then rented one for themselves far, far away from their "parents" - which turned out to mean the other side of the small lake.

So all in all, they had rented enough campsites, canoes and brought enough food and equipment for Canada, America, Prussia, Russia However, England, North Ireland, South Ireland, Scotland, Wales France, Australia, Cameroon, New Zealand, Seychelles, Hong Kong, China, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Veneziano, Romano, Spain, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Denmark. It was said that one of the packs housed nothing but packs of marshmellows, chocolate and graham crackers, though that had yet to be confirmed.

This was a disaster waiting to happen.

So, June 29th, they all left for the campsites...and were never seen from again.

* * *

**And now for my own small plot ending :D**

One week before Hallowe'en, Matthew sent out invitations to everyone who had principally been involved in his rescue and invited them over for a sleepover from the 30-31st . Everyone ended up accepting so when the 30th rolled around, 19 nations showed up on his doorstep in costumes and with alcohol.

They started up the  _Brawl_ game and also soon had a game of poker going after enough alcohol was consumed. Canada was constantly going back and forth between the living room and the kitchen getting more alcohol and snacks. That was until Prussia told him to sit down and enjoy his party, after all, everyone had two functioning legs, they could get off their asses and get it themselves. Then to stop any arguments, he sealed the Canadian's mouth with his own, ignoring the catcalls that erupted around the room (and also of course the "Ewww. That's my bro dude! Can't you go kiss him... elsewhere?")

Poker became strip poker became beer pong became flip cup as the day wore on just as  _Brawl_ was replaced with  _Dance Dance Revolution_ then  _Rock Band_ Prussia wisely decided to turn the games off as someone put on a first person shooter and Ukraine, Finland, Canada and Australia began to have a sniping competition, (Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Simo Häyhä, Francis Pegahmagabow and Billy Sing) it was always the quiet ones...

x

As he waited for Norway to come join him (they had had to attend a few meetings before going over to Canada's), Mathias chatted happily with Iceland (who already had plans for a gaming night with Greenland and a few others) about the Kraken and how much he had missed his friend...

Iceland, fed up after about ten minutes of this asked him bluntly in a monotone "If I buy you a bear, will you shut up and let me leave?"

Denmark looked at him stunned momentarily before he began to freak out and went running to Norway, just as his fellow Nordic at last was leaving his room (and Iceland quickly escaped).

"NORGE!"

"What." The Norweigen deadpanned, wanting the day to be over already, which it technically was being that it was now past midnight in Norway.

"I just realized! I promised Kraken and the others mead if they would help me!"

"So?"

"So, can you help me send some over? It's an equinox."

Norway looked up at the earnest Dane's face and sighed before he said "Fine."

x

It was about 7pm when, they got a phone call from their only missing guest, Denmark who was bringing Norway.

Retreating into his office where it was quieter, Matthew answered the phone.

"Hello Denmark, what's up?"

" _Hei. This is Norway."_

"Ah, hello Norway. Sorry about that."

" _No need to be. I'm just calling to let you know that neither Denmark or I will be able to attend the party this evening..."_

"Oh...that's too bad."

" _...we need to go after Sealand."_

"What."

" _Do you need me reiterate?_ "

"Please."

" _Well, hmh. Sorry we can no longer attend, it would appear that I've accidentally sent Sealand into the oceans of the fae world with 20 barrels of mead. We'll be back in a few hours, I've already alerted my trolls."_

"WHAT!"

That night as Matthew went to sleep, he snuggled up with Gilbert but at the same time, he reached over and grabbed a sleeping England's hand muttering _"You're coming with me if this happens again."_

_**Translations.** _

_Hei_ (Nor- Hello)

 _Onkel_ (Dan- Uncle)

* * *

**The family gathering I might write as a separate story, this was getting too long already and I have work I should be doing...Ah-hah...ha.**

**Once again, all totem-y stuff is from the internet. I didn't come up with this.**

**Russia's Totem- Snow Leopard symbolize independence, camouflage/hiding in plain sight, secrets, the power of silence, mindfulness and attentiveness – to be alert and wait for the right opportunity to strike. Symbolize leadership, intuitiveness, ambition, self-reliance (learned through abandonment and rejection), balance, mystery, sensitivity, observation and introversion (live in own world). Can frequently be seen as aggressive and intimidating but are typically just self-assured and goal-driven.**

**They make the strangest noises too!** www . youtube watch?v=rZIzh_XjGVo&feature=related www . youtube watch?v=TLDFRSkXiXA

**The conversation with Chesh is one that I imagined when I was really bored and having a staring contest with my own cat.**

**So I hope that satisfies those who weren't completely satisfied with the end of the fic, but this is the end now. Definitely. Yep. :D (I'm not kidding :|)**


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